


Unite or Die

by alphashley14



Category: Hellsing, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Battle of London, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Hellsing Organization, Post-Battle of London, The Vatican - Freeform, Titan Shifters, Titans, change in perspective, millennium - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2019-06-16 21:39:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15446430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphashley14/pseuds/alphashley14
Summary: "If they hadn't come, this story would have ended differently... But, they did come. Zorin's blimp was halfway the Hellsing, Millenium & Iscariot were facing off, and Alucard was still many miles away from shore… that's when the lightning hit." In the middle of the Battle of London, the Titans appear and devour all in sight. The survivors are faced with a choice: unite or die. Forced to live and work together, how will the surviving members of Hellsing, Millennium, and Iscariot deal with a threat like the Titans? And who are these people who call themselves the 'Wings of Freedom'?





	1. I: Interruptions

The night was calm, at first. The calm before the storm, people would later say. Then, from the sky in hellish red and black zeppelins, The Last Battalion came. The people of London stared in horror and fear. The innocent, the guilty. The men, the women. The old, the young. None would be spared from the ravenous hunger the Nazis brought with them. Hunger for blood. Hunger for death. Hunger for screams of agony. Hunger for destruction. Hunger for war. 

Little did anyone know, another enemy was coming, with a hunger for flesh and blood much greater.

The Major gave a great speech to his men. A speech about war. A speech about bloodlust. A speech about  _ desire _ . He spoke of the joy it gave him. He spoke of how much he  _ loved  _ it. He spoke with passion and truth, calm and calculating at one moment, then wild and passionate with mad gesticulations the next. 

_ “My friends, it hast often been said, that I like war. My friends, I like war…No, friends, I  _ love  _ war! I love holocausts. I love Blitzkriegs. I love defensive lines. I love sieges, charges. I love mop-up operations und retreats! Wars across prairies, in streets, in trenches, in glass lands, in frozen tundras, through deserts, on the sea, in the air.  I love every act of war zat can occur upon zis earth!” _

He spoke of the war he loved. He loved watching people being killed, he loved the explosions, the fire, the insanity it brought. To see the last band of resistance fighters brought him ecstacy.  He even liked being defeated, because whether he was on the winning or losing side, he was still at war, and that made him happy. 

The speech itself was disturbing to the average person, but well-spoken. It certainly roused emotions in all who heard it (for better or for worse), but one sentence would stand out later.

_ “Ze humiliation as my men crawl around like vermin, ducking the Jagdbombers flying overhead.” _

Humiliation? The Major thought he knew humiliation. He was wrong. He did not know the humiliation of being a species nearing extinction. He did not know the humiliation of being trapped inside huge walls. He did not know the humiliation of having his entire  _ world  _ stolen from him. He did not know the humiliation of watching his companions, whether they be friends, family, or comrades, dying before his eyes, being swallowed whole or in pieces. He did not know the humiliation. He did not know the fear. He did not have nightmares of giant fingers closing around him, a maw opening wide, teeth snapping shut, the darkness and agony that followed… he did not know the terror that was the Titans… but he would learn. They would all learn, and some would die doing so.

_ “Gentlemen, all I ask for is var. Var so grand as to make Hell itself tremble… Gentlemen, I ask you as fellow brothers in arms vat is that you really want? Do you wish for further war as I do? Do you wish for a merciless bloody war? A war whose fury is built vith iron und lightning und fire? Do you ask for war to sweep in like a tempest, leaving not even ravens to scavenge from this earth!?” _

And the soldiers cried out,  _ “Krieg! Krieg! Krieg! Krieg!” _ The tongue of Germany translated, they cried out,  _ “War! War! War! War!” _

If it was war they wanted, it was war they would get. But not the war they wanted. All their lives, and even before them, throughout  _ history _ , they had fought their fellow man, or vampire, or other creatures that they could  _ reason with _ . Creatures who fought and killed with  _ purpose _ . Little did Millenium know, an enemy was coming with no reason, and no mercy… only  _ hunger _ .

_ “Very well, zen Krieg is what you shall have. Ve are ze clenched fists, ready to strike down all who oppose us, vith our might. But, after enduring over half a century, wallowing in the darkness for us, a simple ordinary var vill no longer be sufficient. Ve need a massive var! A var beyond any other that man’s history has ever known!  _

_ “Ve are but a single battalion…the remnants of a defeated army numbering less zan a thousand strong. However, I believe that each of you  _ old  _ warriors is equal to a thousand of their  _ sickly  _ soft children. _

_ “Ve represent a force zat could easily defeat an army of a million and one men! It is time for zem to avake ze ones who sent us screaming into oblivion und who now lie sleeping. Let’s drag zem out of bed by ze hair, und remind zem of vat ve are! Ve vill remind zem of vat it is feel like to live in fear. We will remind zem of ze sound our jackboots make against their throats.” _

The men cheered.   _ “Es Europa! Es ist Licht von Europa!” _ The Zeppelins drew closer to their target.

How wrong the Major was. For, while they would strike fear, it would not be Millenium who would make the people live in fear. It happened to another world, and there, they are still fighting. But for this world, the war between the Titans and mankind was about to begin. Not yet, but soon, humanity (which includes vampires, werewolves, cyborgs, werecats, and everything else) would learn, unite or die.

_ “We will remind them that there are more things between heaven and hell than are dreamt of in their philosophy.” _

_ “Friends… let’s bring them…  _ hell _.” _

This, the Major right about. There  _ were  _ more things between heaven and hell. Hell would be brought to London… but it would not be by the Millenium Battalion. It would not be by the Iscariot forces, soon to invade. It would not even be by the Control Art Restriction Level Zero that the vampire king Alucard would have unleashed upon his enemies (if  _ they _ hadn’t come, that is).  _ They  _ would bring hell. And no one had any way of being ready.

Upon their arrival, the Major gave a toast, and the last line of it was so  _ ironic _ , that most members of Millenium would later think it was the Major who jinxed the whole thing.  _ “Now, let us toast the occasion. For tonight is a feast, the likes of which has never been seen before.” _

Oh, it would be a feast, alright. Just certainly not the one Millenium had in mind.

The bomb doors opened, the music started, the glass dropped and shattered, and the first missiles launched. The Nazis attacked mercilessly and efficiently. When the bombs hit their targets, the brightest fires soon burned in the shape of a giant Nazi swastika in the center of the once beautiful city. Men. Women. Children. They screamed in horror, fear, and agony. People in comas, the deaf, the blind, the sick, the old. No pity was given. Fire burned flesh. Falling and flying debris flew to crush and pierce the flesh and bones of the innocent. Explosions burst eardrums and destroyed all they touched. No life was spared from the hungry jaws of the freaks once the Vampires fell from the Zeppelins, down to the earth like the merciless arrows of vengeful angels, punishing humanity for some sin. The problem was, no victim knew:  _ ‘Why? What have we done to deserve this?’ _ . Those were the first two waves. Then, from the corpses and ashes, rose the ghouls. The mindless ghouls who devoured any human they came across at the orders of their masters. The first wave rendered Britain defenseless with it’s once proud capital burning, its people dying like dogs.

Then came Iscariot. Under the mad reign of Maxwell,  who was trying to take over as the new Pope. Flares gave off the illusions of Angels. The survivors looked to the sky with a mix of hope and fear. Were these their saviors or their destroyers? 

_ “We have come for you! We are the righteous soldiers of the Angel of Death! And tonight, the world below shall know justice!”  _ Maxwell said into the microphones, his thumb pointed downward like the thumb of an executioner.  _ “England is guilty! The heathens are guilty! You are now all sentenced… to your deaths!” _

The people of London looked up with horror. First the Nazis, now the church, the representatives of the God who was supposed to love them, who was supposed to save them, who was supposed to  _ protect  _ them, were coming to kill them, too.

_ “Death! Death! Death!  _ Death _!” _

The Nazis looked up to see the commotion, too. Not with fear, but anticipation. Finally, an actual opponent!

_ “I can offer you my pity. But forgiveness? Never! Now prepare to be purged from the Earth! Mowed down like grass! Crushed like bugs!” _ And he laughed! He  _ laughed! _

Maxwell was a hunter. A hunter drunk on power. He did not know what it was to be prey. He did not know the humiliation. He did not know the fear. In his eyes, he was Catholic, and anyone not Catholic was a heathen who needed to be purged from the Earth. He, and others with similar opinions, did not realize that people were people, whether they be Catholics, Protestants, Nazis, Buddhists, Jews, Atheists, black, white, asian, male, female, straight, gay, or bisexual. Humans were humans. They were a species divided by borders, beliefs, colors, genders, and old grudges. Foolish humanity. But they would learn. Not yet, but soon, humanity (which includes vampires, werewolves, cyborgs, werecats, and everything else) would learn, unite or die.

In another world, humanity  _ did  _ learn. Humanity  _ did  _ unite. Against a greater enemy, mankind laid down its’ differences and united against it for the sake of its’ species survival. It would be hard, but they would soon learn, too. They would all learn.

The helicopters landed, and the eighth crusade began. They slaughtered every protestant and Nazi they came across, though the Last Battalion killed more. 

On the ground, Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing seethed in anger at Maxwell’s betrayal. Her heart held fury, and sadness at the innocent lives she  _ knew  _ were being lost every second. Even Father Alexander Anderson, who saw Protestants almost the same way Maxwell did, was angered and horrified by the actions of his superior. Raptured with authority, intoxicated with power was Maxwell, and that was a very bad combination, indeed. In Alexander’s eyes, Maxwell had turned his back on God for power. Anderson was so disgusted, that although he didn’t say it, he considered siding with Integra against the power-crazed bishop.

Outside of London, an airship was headed for the Hellsing Manor (which was being guarded by Pip Bernadotte and the Wild Geese Mercenaries and the vampiress Seras Victoria), filled with soldiers of Millenium, commanded by the vampiress Zorin Blitz…

If  _ they  _ hadn’t come… this story would have ended very differently. Different people would have died, Alucard would have been banished inside himself for thirty years, and in the end, Hellsing would have come out on top. Victorious, but weak. 

But, they  _ did  _ come. Zorin’s blimp was about halfway to the Hellsing Mansion, Millenium and Iscariot were facing off, and the No-Life King Alucard was still many miles away from shore aboard the battleship  _ Eagle _ … 

That’s when the lightning hit. 

All over the city, lightning rained down from the sky and struck the Earth, making it shake. The strikes themselves killed quite a few people, and certainly got everyone’s attention. One strike narrowly missed hitting the  _ Deus Ex Machina _ , the command zeppelin of Millenium, on top of which the Major and his subordinates, Schrodinger and Doktor, had been  _ ‘enjoying’ _ the view of the battle happening below. It gave the three quite a scare, which was impressive in itself considering how much the Major  _ didn’t  _ get scared. Those who didn't die were either injured, or at least scared stiff like a bunch of deer in the headlights. Other than the roar of the fires and the sounds made by the Iscariot helicopters and Millenium Zeppelins, everything and everyone went dead silent. Once the shock wore off a few moments later, most looked around with a  _ ‘WTF was that?!’ _ look on their faces while a few quick-thinking crusaders fell to their knees and started praying to their God for forgiveness, thinking that surely only he could be responsible for so many bolts of lightning at the exact same moment. Some members of the different sides had just started to turn on each other again… when the sounds of the first giant footsteps echoed across the nearly silent battlefield.

_ Boom… boom… boom… boom…  _

Confused at the sound, everyone stopped to listen, trying to figure out what it was. It was a very unfortunate group of Millenium soldiers and Vatican crusaders who figured it out first. It wasn’t that difficult, when a giant naked foot stepped out from behind a building, followed swiftly by the largest, most hideous creature any of them had ever seen. It was a giant, naked, disproportioned, humanoid creature lacking genitalia. It was about fifteen meters tall, with messy hair, bulging eyes, a rather large head, and a ridiculously wide smile that stretched almost completely from one ear to the other, lined with large, crooked square teeth. That smile seemed to widen when it saw the group of tiny figures, and it began to approach them. The Crusaders held their ground and got into formation, pointing their guns at the creature. The Millenium artificial vampires started backing up with their guns pointed at it, but stayed back enough that they could run if it started fighting the crusaders. 

The On top of the  _ Deus Ex Machina _ , herr Doktor noticed the commotion and was quick to point it out to his Major and Schrodinger, who both turned and looked down at the commotion with a pair of binoculars. 

The leader of the squad of crusaders yelled at the creature through his white hood, “Identify yourself! Who and  _ what  _ the hell are you and what do you want?!” It didn’t say anything. In fact, it completely ignored the ramblings coming out of the tiny human. It reached down with it’s big, meaty hand. The crusaders started to back away, and by the time the unfortunate man realized that the creature was about to grab him, it was too late. The giant fingers closed around his body and lifted him off the ground. It raised him higher and higher, towards it’s face, and those giant, terrible jaws started opening wide. The man realized what was about to happen, and he screamed desperately at his men, “OPEN FIRE! OPEN FIRE! OPEN FI-” But it was too late. The last thing he ever saw was the inside of that monster’s cavernous mouth, and those huge, terrible teeth snapping shut right on top of him. The last thing he ever heard was the sound of his own screaming, his bones breaking and grinding, the  _ squelsh  _ of his flesh tearing. The last thing he ever felt… was the intense agony of his body being crushed, torn in half, and chewed. He was no longer alive to feel it as his corpse was swallowed down the Titan’s throat in one gulp. 

For a few moments, no one moved. They could only stare in shock as the blood and bits and pieces of human tissue spurted out of the creature's maw, running down it’s chin and chest like a child messily eating spaghetti. It’s adam’s apple bobbed once as it swallowed. On top of the  _ Deus Ex Machina,  _ even the Major, Doktor, and Schrodinger were shocked into silence, mouths gasping in horror. Then, someone finally screamed. And all hell broke loose. 

The crusaders finally opened fire, and the FREAKS took off running, only to have their path blocked by a much smaller, much faster version of the first creature. This one was about five meters tall and even more ugly and disfigured than the first creature. It leapt forward face-first with it’s jaws open wide when it saw them and caught two artificial vampires in its mouth, chewing and swallowing them both before lunging for more. The soldiers of Millenium opened fire. The bullets on both sides, despite the Vatican’s ammo being blessed, did little to nothing. Steam erupted from the creature’s wounds and healed over in seconds. And the fingers kept reaching for more, and the mouth kept closing, and the blood flew, and the men screamed. The entire party was either devoured or crushed in less than three minutes. 

Aboard the  _ Deus Ex Machina _ , the Major watched with a mix of horror and glee. Horror, because his men did  _ nothing  _ against the monsters and this most certainly was  _ not  _ according to plan, and glee simply because of his love for war and bloodshed. But soon, that ‘delightful’ feeling would disappear entirely. Because throughout the city, men on both sides began to scream. And the screaming got louder. Everywhere the lightning had struck, these monstrous creatures appeared, devouring anything human-like they came across.

* * *

 

On the ground, Integra, Anderson, Yumie, Heinkel, and the other elite Iscariots got incredibly lucky. The first monster they encountered was a slow five-meter who liked to take its time with its food. It got a hold of one Iscariot, ignoring the others as they began to attack it in defense of their comrade. They quickly realized he was dead and there was no saving him, and they quickly figured out about it’s fast regeneration and seeming invulnerability. With no other choice, they took to the rooftops in the nick of time, as a much faster ten meter appeared and grabbed Yumie off of the edge of the roof. Anderson saved her with just a second to spare. He cut off the monster’s fingers with two bayonetts and then threw them into its eyes, blinding it long enough for the group to make it to another rooftop that was high enough that even the tallest, the fifteen meter creatures, couldn’t reach them. The highest a fifteen meter titan could reach was the top of a six story building, and Integra, Anderson, and company were fortunate enough to make it to the roof of an eight story building  _ before  _ a fifteen meter showed up.

* * *

 

Many miles away, at the Hellsing Manor, Seras Victoria and Pip Bernadotte were alerted to something non-human or vampire trying to enter the grounds by the loud sound of something striking the barrier around the Hellsing lands. There was a magical barrier surrounding the Hellsing Manor and the lands belonging to the Hellsing family/organization. Only a human, ‘normal’ animal(such as a regular dog, cat, rodent, horse, bird, etc…), vampire, or were-creature could cross it. Human, for obvious reasons, vampire, so Seras and Alucard could cross it, and were-creature because there had been a werewolf working for Hellsing about two hundred years ago, but everyone kept forgetting to change the wards. 

They checked the cameras set up at the border, and were quite surprised and taken back to see a… naked giant trying to walk through the barrier. It apparently wasn’t very smart, because it was walking into the barrier, making a loud ‘thunk’ sound each time, stumbling back a few steps, then doing the exact same thing over and over again. Not much later, a second giant collided with the barrier on the other side of the Hellsing property. This one apparently had a little more common sense, because it made contact with the barrier  _ once,  _ gave a confused sounding growl at the invisible  _ thing _ blocking it’s path, and wandered off the other way. The people at Hellsing were lucky. Everyone else in London? Not so much.

* * *

 

The Titans could smell the humans in the Iscariot helicopters above, and as if under orders, they grabbed pieces of rubble from the ground and hurled them at the Iscariot Helicopters, bringing them and the ‘delicious treats’ inside hurling down to the Earth in balls of fire. The  _ Deus Ex Machina _ was lucky. With it’s soldiers on the ground, there was a minimum amount of crew aboard plus the Major, Doc, Schrodinger, and Captain Hans. And the ship was so big, the smell of humans was not concentrated enough to attract the Titan’s attention, and they weren’t smart enough to even wonder what the giant black and red thing in the sky was. Among the choppers that came down was the chopper that was supporting Maxwell in his box. It fell to the Earth, but the glass was so strong, it did not break. 

Maxwell groaned and rubbed his now bleeding head, sitting up. The box had landed on it’s side. Maxwell looked up, and screamed. There was a gigantic grinning face staring at him on the other side of the glass. Maxwell felt the tremors of giant footsteps and looked up to see the ugliest creature he’d seen yet. It was more ape-like than human like, with hair everywhere on its body except it’s face, hands, feet, chest, and stomach. It’s body was too large, it’s arms were too long, it’s head was too small, it’s legs were too short, it had sunken yellow eyes, pointy ears, and sharp teeth. 

“ **Hey, you. Get out of the way so I can speak to this… little girl.** ” The monster said in a huge, deep voice. The first monster hesitated, then stepped out of the way. The  _ beast _ (that was the only word Maxwell could use to describe it) knelt down in front of him with a small, almost pleasant smile on its face. 

“ **Hey, what are these called?** ” The beast asked, pointing at the burning helicopter. Maxwell was too terrified to make a sound. 

“ **These large, loud things that you fly in?** ” 

Still, Maxwell was too terrified to speak. 

“ **And that big, round thing in the sky? It’s red and black. What is it?** ” 

Maxwell couldn’t talk. He knew the beast was asking about the Last Battalion's Zeppelin, but he couldn’t answer the question even if he wanted to. He was too scared to do anything other than sit there and gawk with his mouth hanging open.

“ **And what were those bullet-shaped things that flew out of the red and black thing? The things that made the city burn? Your people were using them, too. And what war is going on, here? You were fighting those others long before I got here.** ” Maxwell knew he was asking what missiles and bombs were, but again, he was too scared to do anything but sit and stare.

The creature scratched the back of it’s head. “ **I’m fairly certain we speak the same language. Unless you’re just too terrified to move or speak. I’ll just find someone else to ask. You’re the second person I’ve tried to interrogate in this form, only to have them be too scared to move. Didn’t catch the other one’s name. I don’t think I’ll be getting yours, either.** ”

The beast wrapped it’s fingers around the hardened tectite-reinforced glass box Maxwell was in, picked it up, and tried to smash it on the ground. Maxwell hit his head hard n the impact, hard enough that he saw stars, but didn’t pass out. 

“ **Such hard glass. How clever your people are…** ” The creature said to itself. It set the box down on top of a piece of rubble, grabbed a second, larger piece of rubble, and smashed it on top of the box. The box shattered, leaving Maxwell completely exposed. The creature stood up and began to walk away. But before it rounded the corner, it turned and said, “ **I got that box open for you for a reason. You can eat him, now.** ” 

A shadow fell over Maxwell, and the bishop looked up to see a giant, smiling face and giant fingers reaching for him. 

He died alone. No one saw it. No one saw the beast titan, either. It would take hours for his own people to realize he was dead. Father Maxwell died learning  _ exactly  _ what it felt like to be prey.

* * *

 

About fifty miles away, Zorin Blitz was daydreaming about the battle to come, when a soldier ran up to her, saying the Major was on the line with new orders. Zorin made the short walk over to the phone and picked it up. 

“Zis is Lieutenant Zorin Blitz, reporting.”

_ “Ah, Lieutenant. Do you remember ven I ordered you not to attack Hellsing, just to provide reconnaissance?” _

“Yes, Herr Major.” 

_ “Vell, I know ze chances of you disobeying zose orders are high, so I am reinforcing them. Do  _ not _ , under any circumstances, attack Hellsing Manor.” _

“Do you mind me asking vhy, Herr Major?” She asked. 

_ “London, all our forces, ze Vatican, anything zat moves, apparently, is under attack by giant, naked, cannibals.” _

“Pardon, Herr Major?”

_ “You heard correctly. Zey are naked, huge, strong, incredibly stupid, und zere are hundreds if not thousands of zem. Und zey are  _ eating  _ anyone zey come across. Our forces are being slaughtered, und Alucard is still not even in sight of ze shore.” _

“Vith all do respect, Major, it sounds a bit far fetched.”

_ “You are in ze control room, ja?” _

“Ja.”

_ “Put me on hold, go to ze big window, und look down. Zen come back und tell me if you believe me.” _

Zorin obeyed. At first, she didn’t see anything, but then, through the trees, she caught sight of something big and pink in the moonlight. She kept watching it, coming into view every now and then through the trees, until  _ it _ finally stepped out into a small clearing. A naked giant. Zorin blinked a few times, trying to make sense of what she was seeing, and eventually decided she wasn’t crazy and it was actually there. She walked back over to the phone and picked it back up.

_ “You vere saying?”  _ The Major’s voice asked dryly through the phone. 

“Ja, I saw one. But why don’t ve just shoot zem? Surely, ve still have some rockets left.” Zorin asked. 

_ “Ve did. Und ve blew zem to pieces.” _

“Zen vat is ze problem?”

_ “Zeir regenerative abilities are as good if not better zan zat of Alexander Anderson. Ve blasted zeir heads off, destroyed zeir hearts in every vay ve could, zey vill not die. _ ”

“Permission to use crude language in your presence, Herr Major?”

_ “Considering ze situation, Lieutenant, granted.” _

“ Scheiße .”

_ “Herr Doktor said ze same zing. I just stuck vith ‘shit’.” _

“So, vat do you vant me to do, Major? Vould you like me to come back to help?”

_ “No, stay vere you are. I am going to evacuate vatever forces ve can, und ve vill meet up vith you. Ve may end up falling back behind Hellsing’s wards. Hence, my orders to not attack zem.” _

“You mean ve’re-”

_ “I hate to say it as much as you do, Lieutenant, but ja, ve are retreating, for now.” _

“Vat about Hans und ze Butler?” Zorin asked. 

_ “Ve deployed Valter, und he actually managed to kill two, but ve think he did it on accident und are not sure how he did it. He got overvelmed, und a big group of zem tore him limb from limb in about ten minutes und ate ze pieces.” _

“You’re serious?!”

_ “Ja. Do you zink I vould retreat over any  _ wenig  _ complication, Zorin?” _

“Of course not, Herr Major. Und zis certainly isn’t  _ little _ in any vay. But, vat do my orders have to do vith zis?”

_ “I do not vant you destroyed. Zat simple. Und zat fledgling of Alucard’s vould kick your arsch. I am serious, Zorin. If you attack against my orders, vether you vin or lose, zere vill be severe punishments. Ze same applies to ze giants. Vith ze number of casualties so far, I need to save as many men as I can.” _

“Read you loud and clear, Major.” Zorin sighed. She’d really wanted to kill something, today.

* * *

 

Back on the  _ Deus Ex Machina,  _ Major Montana Max was standing in the control room, watching the carnage below. Everyone on the ground was long dead, now. The only survivors were the smartest, fastest, and luckiest ones who had made it onto the rooftops where even the tallest of the giants could not reach, and the ones who had followed them there. He let his gaze rest on one particular group that wasn’t too far off. From where he was, he could identify Sir Integra and Father Anderson. He was rather glad Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing wasn’t dead. She was one of the few opponent’s he’d had that he actually respected. Plus, she was a living Alucard magnet. If the Hellsing line died off, he may never see the dazzling count or his fledgling again. 

“Vat vill ve do now, Herr Major?” Doktor asked next to him, biting the side of one gloved finger nervously. 

The Major thought for a moment. He knew exactly what he wanted and  _ needed _ to do, but needed to give the order in a way that it didn’t look suspicious to his subordinates and/or enemies. The right words came into his mind, he turned to Doc, and told him what the orders were. 

“Zese creatures are massacring everyzing remotely human.” The Major said. “Even ze ghouls have all fallen prey to zem. Humanity, Vampires, Verevolves, ze like, if ve go extinct, zere vill be no more vars to fight, vill zere?” 

“Vell, no, Herr Major, zere von’t.” The Doktor agreed. 

“Und eventually, zis vorld vill be nothing but vildreness zat zese ugly  _ miststücks  _ vander around on until zey die off or even forever. Zis fate, for me, is not a desirable one for our vorld, don’t you agree, Herr Doktor?”

“I agree, Herr Major. But, vat are our orders?”

“Ze survivors. All of zem. Ve are going to lower ze Zeppelin down to ze rooftops, und ve are going to save zem.”

“Just our men, or…”

“All of zem. Ours, Hellsing, Iscariot, ze Vatican, even civilian survivors if zere are any. Und zen ve vill retreat until ve can figure out how to kill zese dinges.”

“Retreat vere, Herr Major?”

“Ve vill not make it out of Britain, ze Zeppelin has taken too much of a hit to make ze journey, und ve do not know vere is safe to go, anyvay. As far as ve know, zey are all over ze island or even all over ze vorld at zis point. Our only chance is to retreat to Hellsing lands.”

“Vhy Hellsin- Oh! Ze barrier, Herr Major?”

“Ja. Vith ze enchantments around Hellsing territory, ve vill all be able to get zrough, but  _ zey  _ von’t.”

“If I may ask, vere is zis charity coming from, Herr Major?”

“Charity? No, no, Herr Doktor. You misunderstand. I love var, but I also love humanity. I love it ven humanity vages var. But zis, zis is not var, zere is no resistance. No fighting back. Everyone dying is dying because zere is no resistance. Zis is  _ extermination _ . Und ve are ze pests. I have told you before that I disapproved of ze holocaust, have I not? No fight, no fun. No fun at all. Vat is ze point of having a good var if zere are no survivors to tell ze stories or sing ze songs? No one to clean up ze mess und rebuild for ze next var? If Armageddon comes, I vant humanity to go down fighting. If zis is it, zen I am not going to let my species go down vithout a fight. Und ze best chance ve have of doing zat is, unfortunately, allying ourselves vith Iscariot, Hellsing, und anyone else zat is left.”

“Zat makes sense, Herr Major. You are right. I’ll give ze crew your orders immediately, sir.”

As soon as Doc left, the Major walked away from the window and started making his way to the bay doors at the bottom of the airship, where he was expecting quite a few guests aboard his ship, very soon.


	2. II: Unite or Die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The choice is made: Unite or Die.

On the rooftops of burning London, Sir Integra, Father Anderson, and company were surrounded. On all sides of the building they were perched on, the monsters stared up at them with giant, creepy faces. Clawing feebly at the side of the building with their giant fingers. They’d lost quite a few men on the way to this rooftop, though the exact number was presently unknown. They hadn’t had enough peace to count, yet. But they had four people who were seriously injured. If they had to abandon this rooftop, it was likely that they would have no choice other than to leave them. Many remaining members of Iscariot were huddled together or alone, praying to their God. For Mercy, for forgiveness, for salvation, and some had given up altogether and were murmuring, “I shall be with you soon, Lord.” Even Alexander _‘Angel’s Dust’_ Anderson, Iscariot’s Trump Card, was starting to lose hope. He grasped the cross around his neck with his head bowed and prayed to his Lord.

A little ways off, away from the Catholics, the Protestant Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing fingered her cross and murmured her own prayers. She didn’t know if she was going to survive the night, and she didn’t want to spend her last hours (or even minutes, who knew?) being heckled and called a ‘Heathen’, ‘Protestant Whore’, or anything of the like by a bunch of Catholics, when she was trying to pray to the very same God as them. She prayed that Alucard would arrive, soon. He was their only hope.

Their salvation came in the same form the people of London’s damnation had only hours before. When a certain giant red and black checkered Zeppelin flew over them and stopped, flood lights blaring down on them and the giants.  The Zeppelin lowered itself down so it was level with the roof, and the bay doors opened. Much to Sir Integra’s surprise, the Major was standing just inside the zeppelin, clad in his all white attire with that odd haircut of his.

“Iscariot! Fazer Anderson! _Fraulein_ Integra! _Kommen sei! Kommen sei!_ ” The Major yelled over the roar of the engines.

“What makes you think we would ever willingly walk into that thing with you?” Anderson yelled back at him. Sir Integra pointed her gun at the Nazi Major.

“Ja! Ja! I know ze whole ‘blowing up London’ zing probably pissed you off, Sir Integra. Und I know all ze Catholics dead at my soldiers’ hands probably ticks you off as vell, Fazer Anderson, but it is a _var_ I vant! Und zese giant… _hideous…_ vatever-zey-ares, are _not_ vat I had in mind.”

“Wait, you mean this wasn’t you?!” Sir Integra yelled, pointing at the giants.

“No! It’s a logical assumption, but zis ist not Millennium! Und I vould know!”

“Then where the bloody hell are these buggers coming from?!” Sir Integra yelled.

“ _Wir wissen es nicht!_ ” He yelled back, shrugging his shoulders.

“So, why help us?” Heinkel yelled.

“Zis ist extinction, not var! Ze Last Battalion ist retreating. Und zough you are my enemies, und zough I do love var, I do _not_ vant my species to go extinct! Und unfortunately, ze best chance of survival ve have ist to join forces.”

“Really?! _That’s_ your excuse? That’s your big speech to make us decide to go with you? I thought you could do better, Major!” Sir Integra yelled mockingly.

“Do you zink I vould risk my life, coming out here, unless I meant it?!” The Major yelled.

Just then, a loud noise was heard. Everyone turned to see a fat, bulging, five-meter monster _climbing_ on top of a roof a few buildings over. _But, wait! None of the others can climb! This makes no sense!_ Sir Integra screamed inside her head.

“Make a choice! It’s eizer _zis_ insane little fat man, ze vone trying to _save your asses_ , OR ZE BIG VONE ZAT VANTS TO EAT YOU!” The Major yelled in a panicked tone, pointing at the approaching monster. It’s movements were sloopy and uncoordinated, and it was looking at _them_ rather than where it was going. It’s limbs kept going through the rooftops and getting stuck, so it kept having to pause to wretch itself free. That was the only reason they were still alive.

Anderson growled. They didn’t have much of a choice. So, he swallowed his pride, and gave Iscariot his orders. “Soldiers of Iscariot! Live today, fight tomorrow! Let’s get the hell out of here! Sir Integra, make your own choice!”

The Iscariots picked up their wounded and started running into the airship, the Major ushering them inside and Father Anderson taking up the rear. Sir Integra hesitated, then growled, swallowed her own pride, and ran after them.

As soon as she was on the steps, the Zeppelin started to pull away. The monster was getting closer! Sir Integra turned around briefly, aimed her revolver, and shot the beast right in it’s left eye. It didn’t scream or flinch, but continued it’s advance. Integra turned back around and continued to run up as fast as she could, but she was starting to lose her footing as the ship moved. She stumbled, but someone grabbed her by the arm and started hauling her the rest of the way. The doors began to close, just as the creature reached the rooftop they had been on mere moments before and reached for her. Silver streaks flew past Sir Integra, and Anderson’s bayonetts buried themselves into the monster’s flesh and into each of it’s bulging eyeballs. The person pulling her aboard pulled her the rest of the way in and pulled her to his chest just as the doors shut.

Sir Integra couldn’t remember the last time she was this frightened. She was totally stiff, she was breathing hard, and her heart was pounding. The person who had hauled her aboard let her go and stepped back. “Are you alright, _Fraulein_?” He asked.

Integra realized with a jolt that the man who had just saved her life was none other than the Major. And Anderson had saved her life, too. Three times in one day, actually. The first time was from the Millenium soldiers, the second time was when he’d grabbed her and taken her with him onto the rooftops and away from the monsters, and the third time was just now, when he’d thrown his bayonetts and blinded the creature, preventing it from grabbing her. The indignity. She’d had her life saved by two enemies in one day.

Sir Integra jerked away from the Major as she came back to herself. “I am _fine_ .” She snapped. She immediately regretted it. He _had_ saved her life. He was looking at her with a small smile, his hands tucked into his pockets. _Damn him! I owe him one, and he knows it!_ Sir Integra sighed, then said, “Ugh, I suppose an apology and a ‘thank you’ are in order so, sorry for snapping at you, and thank you for saving my life.”

“ _Bitte._ ” The Major said with a shrug.

“And thank you as well, Father Anderson.” Integra said, facing the Palatin. “That’s the third time today I’d be dead if it weren’t for you.”

“Don’t get used to it.” He said, turning away from her.

“Well, what are we, Major? Prisoners?” Sir Integra asked.

“If you vere listening to vat I said outside, you vould know zat at least for now, I do not vish to be enemies.” The Major said.

“Then what are we? Guests?”

“As of now, _ve_ , zat’s Sir Integra, Fazer Anderson, Und myself, are equals. Ze vay I see it, ve are ze leaders of our organizations. None are superior to ze other. Und I believe zat none vill survive vithout ze other two. Ze three of us, at least for now, vill vork as joint leaders.”

“Never thought I’d hear that coming out of _yer_ mouth.” Anderson said, arms crossed.

“Vait. Vat about Fazer Maxvell? He’s Iscariot’s leader, not Anderson!” Heinkel interjected.

“I am sorry to tell you zis, but zose zings must have figured out zere vere people in ze helicopters, because zey threw pieces of rubble at zem until all of ze Iscariot choppers crashed. Zere vere no survivors, as far as ve know. It’s a good assumption zat Fazer Maxvell is dead.” The Major said with a sigh, shaking his head and pushing his glasses up further onto his nose with one hand.

“If Maxwell is dead, you be correct. I am in command. If he’s dead, then with hope, he didn’t die as he lived.” Anderson sighed, fingering the cross around his neck and bowing his head solemnly. The other Iscariots did the same.

The Captain, Millennium’s Trump Card, whom Integra learned his name was Hans, met them about a minute later, and the two Nazis led them all up to the control room, where the crew was moving the Zeppelin over to another rooftop, where about fifteen or twenty Millennium FREAKS were waving their arms frantically, trying to get their attention. They made about eight or nine stops before they couldn't find any more people. And by the time the Zeppelin left London and started making its way to Hellsing for it’s retreat, between the three sides fighting each other and the monsters, their numbers had dropped dramatically.

The Vatican’s Papal Knights, which had consisted of 3,172 fighting men, was reduced to just 57 soldiers, with only 41 of them in fighting condition. The Papal Knights had consisted of four factions. The first, The Knights of the Sagely Brethren, who had represented the Knight Order of the Sword of Courland, and had brought 340 members, had been reduced to only 15. The second, The Knights of the Order of Calatrava La Nueva, who had originally had 118 members, now only had 9. The third, The Knights of the Military Order of Santo Stefano di Toscana (St. Stephen of Tuscany), who had started off with 257 members, now only had 11. Finally, the The Knights of the Order of Malta, whos original count had been 2,457 members, now only had 22. The rest, the other 3,115 Papal Knights, were dead.

Millennium did an impressive job of keeping track of who-killed-who, and according to their numbers, Millennium had only killed 197 of them. The rest, the other 2,918 dead men had been killed by lightning strike, crushed by giant feet or rubble, died in the chopper crashes, or worse, were rotting in the belly of one of those monsters. The Vatican weren’t the only ones who had suffered losses.

Iscariot, Vatican Section VIII, which was initially composed of 30 elite soldiers (Including Alexander, Heinkel, and Yumie), had lost almost half of its members, with only 16 remaining and 12 who were well enough to fight.

Millennium, through the use of their FREAK chips, determined that (not including the group of 330 they had sent off with Zorin Blitz) their original force of 670 vampires who had descended to London had 572 soldiers still alive when the lightning hit. But now, of the original 670 who had descended to London, only 46 were left (with only 32 of them in fighting condition). Plus the 23 crew members of the _Deus Ex Machina_ who’d had to stay aboard to pilot the airship, the Major himself, Doc, Schrodinger, Captain Hans, the ‘safe’ 330 who had been sent to monitor Hellsing with Zorin, the 20 crew members of Zorin’s Zeppelin, and Zorin herself, Millennium had been reduced to 427 members. A portion of which did not/could not fight, or were too badly wounded to do so.

Helling had suffered the least. It had only lost a single member, whom Integra was horrified to learn that he had never been truly a member all along. Walter. Walter had betrayed them. He’d been turned into an artificial vampire by Millennium. He’d been deployed to fight the creatures, and had been ripped apart. It served him right. Part of Integra was glad he was dead. But another part wanted to cry. The man who had practically raised her, who had never left her side, the last person she ever expected to betray her (aside from Alucard, but that was only because of the seals), had betrayed her. And now, he was dead by a horrible death. Karma was a bitch. If he’d stayed with her, he would have stayed with her and Anderson, and he’d still be alive.

So, Hellsing’s remaining members were almost the same as it had been before the battle. One Cigar-loving vampire hunter, 2 vampires, and 22 rather unorthodox mercenaries. Twenty-five, total.

Remarkably, there were actually some civilians still alive. A couple of Vietnam War Vets had used their old skills from the war and had successfully hid themselves, their children, their in-laws, their grandchildren, and some friends from Millennium and the Papal Knights. Then most of them had managed to get to a rooftop high enough to avoid the monster’s hungry fingers and jaws. There were 27 of them. Only 9 could fight, and they were nothing compared to Millennium’s soldiers, the remaining Papal Knights, the Iscariots, and even the Wild Geese. The rest were either too old, too young, too weak, or just didn’t know how to fight.

Speaking of the Wild Geese, she would have to test their loyalty when they arrived at Hellsing. Walter had hired them, and he was a traitor. For all she knew, Pip and the rest of the Geese were traitors, too. Which made her so nervous for poor Seras, she was fighting the urge to tap her foot.

Anyway, add them all together, and the resistance against the monsters was made up of 552 people. Only 453 of which could fight. And most of them were with guess who? Millennium. Despite this, the Major, just as he had said, was so far treating Integra and Anderson as equals, listening to them, making suggestions, and trying his best to keep the Catholic and the Protestant from strangling each other.

The only three things Integra was worried about was A: were the Wild Geese truly loyal to her? B: Alucard. Integra didn’t know what to do about him. He was going to be arriving at London, soon. Expecting a city full of Nazi Vampires and Crusading Catholics. Instead, he was going to find that everyone there was dead, his Master nowhere in sight, (which was going to worry him, but he would know she wasn’t dead because of the seals), and the land had been taken over by giant naked giants that wanted to eat him. She knew already that Alucard was going to have trouble killing them, just as Walter and everyone else had. It was unlikely that they could kill him. Because even if they ripped him apart and ate him, he’d just turn into blood or shadows and reform himself. Pissed, but very much un-dead. The last thing she was worried about, C, was obvious. She was _surrounded_ by Nazis and Catholics, _alone_ , armed with only one blessed sword and quite a few revolvers filled with blessed ammo, but that certainly wasn’t enough to defend herself for long.

As though they could read her mind, Anderson and the Major had been sticking at a respectable yet close distance to her, giving their subordinates a look that clearly read _‘don’t you even think about it’_ whenever someone gave her a gesture that even _looked_ threatening. Which so far, was quite often.

The Major allowed Integra to use the phone so she could call ahead to Hellsing and tell them _not_ to open fire at the _Deus Ex Machina_ or the _Graf Zeppelin II_ (Zorin’s Zeppelin). Seras sounded rather bewildered on the other side of the phone, and Integra wasn’t surprised at the least. She explained what the situation in London was, and much to her surprise, Seras knew about the giants, just not that they were man-eaters. Quite a few of them had bumped into Hellsing’s barrier, but none had gotten in, and the Wild Geese and Seras had not crossed the barrier to examine them, purely out of caution (Thank God).

Once Integra’s turn was done, Father Anderson called the Vatican. The signal was poor, so the call didn’t last long. But from the conversation with the Pope, several very important pieces of information were learned. For one thing, the monsters were indeed confined to The Isle of Britain. They had no interest in going into or crossing the ocean and didn’t seem to be smart or coordinated enough to swim.

The second thing, was that although the monsters had eaten millions of people across Britain, millions more had escaped their hungry jaws. Over twenty million people had been evacuated from England after the invasion of the monsters, already. The vast majority of the refugees were taking refuge in France, while the rest were either in Ireland or Germany. The other forty million or so were either dead, on their way out, or like their party, were either safe somewhere in the country or on the run. The Queen of England, thank the Lord, had made it out safely, and was running what was left of her people from Paris, France. And the United Nations were planning an Invasion of the British Isles. But they couldn’t do that until they figured out how to kill the bastards.

The final piece of information, which was _very_ interesting news to Iscariot and the Papal Knights, was that the Pope’s orders had _never_ been to attack London. In fact, as soon as the words ‘Ninth Crusade’ left Anderson’s mouth, Integra heard the Pope yell on the other side of the phone, “MAXWELL DID _WHAT_ ?!” Integra _really_ wished she’d had a camera for the looks on their faces.

Anderson gave a brief explanation of their situation and numbers to the Pope, and Iscariot’s orders were to ally themselves with Hellsing and Millennium (But to side with Hellsing if something happened where there was a conflict between the two and they had to pick a side), to save whatever lives they could, to stay alive, and finally, to figure out what the creatures were, where they came from, why they were there, and how to kill them (then to kill as many of them as possible and somehow get the information to the outside world). And yes, with Maxwell most likely dead _and_ a traitor, and all other superiors safe and sound back at the Vatican, Alexander Anderson was the new head of Iscariot _and_ the Papal Knights.

Finally, the Major took the phone back to call his subordinate, Zorin Blitz, to inform her of the new updates… that’s when all of the actual ‘hope’ Everyone had gained from everything actually going right, was promptly flushed down the metaphorical toilet by something that went very, very wrong.

The Major couldn’t reach Zorin. When he tried to call, all that came through from the other end was a pre-recorded female voice that politely said, _“The number you have dialed has been disconnected. You may have a wrong number, or this number may no longer exist. For assistance, please call our supervi-”_

The Major hung up, and tried again. And once again, _“The number you have dialed has been disconnected…”_

It was a likely assumption that like the Iscariot helicopters, those monsters had chucked hunks of rubble or something similar at the Zeppelin, and had brought it down. If that was true, their numbers may be a lot less than 552. If the 351 people aboard that Zeppelin were dead, then Millennium had been reduced to _76_ members, _not_ 427\. And if that were true, than their fighting force had just dropped dramatically _again_ . With only 201 people _total_ , and only _102_ people who could fight. And their biggest Trump Card (and his familiars, his many, _many_ familiars) was still miles away from shore, stuck on a boat. Could things get any worse?

* * *

 

Something wasn’t right. What was going on? He had arrived in London at last, _expecting_ a city full of Nazi Vampires and Crusading Catholics. Instead, everyone there was dead, his Master was nowhere in sight (which was worrying, but because of the seals, he knew she wasn’t dead), and it seemed that the world had been taken over by giant naked cannibals. He’d figured out pretty quickly that they were cannibals. When he’d tried to talk to one, and it tried to _eat him_ . It took his freaking arm off, in fact. The limb turned to shadows and returned to him as though nothing had happened, of course. But it still pissed him off! And when he tried to kill the bastard, it regenerated it’s injuries in minutes. And then, the others showed up. There were hundreds if not _thousands_ of them. And they wouldn’t freaking _die_. Was this how his opponents felt? Because it was frustrating as hell!

Hours passed, and Alucard stood on a rooftop, looking down at them, trying to figure out how to kill them. There was no such thing as an immortal. All he had to do was figure out what made these things kick the bucket.

He was just starting to get bored, when a voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “Ve could not figure out how to kill them either, Vampire King.”

Alucard turned to see the Millennium Captain, Hans Gunsche, standing a few rooftops away. Alucard stood up. “Hello, Werewolf. I wasn’t aware you could actually talk.” He said, greeting his old opponent and reaching into his coat for his pistols.

“I am not here to fight. And yes, zough I am a man of few vords, I vill talk ven I deem necessary.” The wolfman said. “Most of Millennium, Iscariot, und ze Papal Knights vere viped out by zese things. As far as ve know, zere are only 201 of us left. Your Master und fledgling are among zem. As of now, Millennium, Hellsing, und the Vatican are allies. My Major, Your Master, und ze Paladin Alexander Anderson are vorking togezer as joint leaders.”

“I never thought I’d see the day.” Alucard said quietly.

“Ve did not have much of a choice. It vas a bloodbath. Zese things have taken over the entire Isle of Britain. Millions are dead. The 201 of us who made it out of London are taking refuge at Hellsing, behind the barrier. My Major sent me on Sir Integra’s behalf to fetch you. She knew you’d arrive here clueless. Out of curiosity, do you know vat zese things are?”

“Not the faintest clue.”

“I zought as much.” He said. “Now come, quickly. As sad as it is, ve must retreat. Back to Hellsing.”

“I can’t remember the last time I was forced to retreat, but you’re right.” Alucard growled. He went back to the ship first, for his coffin. He heaved it over one of his shoulders, and side by side, the Vampire King and the werewolf took off into the night, back to their masters, back to Hellsing. One thing was certain: the war was over. The three sides, at last, were at peace… but the next war, the Titan War, was just beginning.

 


	3. III: Enemies to Allies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Safe inside Hellsing's barrier, how will these three sworn enemies work together against the Titans?

The only words that could be used to describe the atmosphere inside the barrier at Hellsing was as follows: Tense, and awkward. Just… awkward. All of the Leaders and their strongest were in Integra's office, waiting for someone to break the  _ awkward  _ silence that had befallen the room. Integra, the Major, and Anderson were all seated around her desk, Alucard (who had finally arrived just a few minutes prior), Seras, and Pip Bernadotte were all standing behind Integra. Alucard's arms were crossed, Seras was standing at attention with her cannon in hand, and Pip also had his arms crossed, with his usual cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. Behind Anderson, stood Yumie and Heinkel. Yumie was fingering the hilt of her katana, while Heikel just stood there, arms crossed, smoking a cigarette. Last but not least, The Captain and Schrödinger stood behind the Major. The Captain being his usual stony self, and Schrödinger looking like he wanted to say something, but wasn't quite sure what.

Finally, Sir Integra broke the silence. "Well, here we are." She said.  _ Seriously?! 'Here we are'? You could have done better than that! _

"Ja. Here ve are." The Major nodded.

"Now what?" Anderson asked, crossing his arms.  _ Seriously, now what? I don't know what. I am in Sir Integra's office at the Hellsing HQ having to be friendly with Protestants and Nazis.  _ He thought.

"Vell, I already have Doc und an apprentice of his treating ze vounded. If zere are any medics in Hellsing or ze Vatican, ve'd best send zem to help him."

_ That fat Major is right. I'd best make sure the Vatican is doing what we can for the wounded as well. Ours and theirs, both.  _ Anderson turned to his subordinates. "Yumie, go make sure Fredrickson is doing what he can." He ordered. Yumie hesitated, not wanting to leave her comrades with so many enemies, then left with a curt nod.

"Bernadotte, are those medics of yours assisting?" Integra asked him.

"Oui. Enzo and Louis are on it. I just hope they can stay out of conflict with Millennium's Doctor. We were about to be under attack by Millennium when Major called it off, mind you." Pip said, sending a pointed glare at the blonde former Nazi.  _ If someone had told me a few years ago that I would be in a meeting between a vampire-hunting organization, the Vatican, and the Nazis, I would have called them crazy. Much less if they had said that said meeting was about what to do about a massive army of man-eating naked giants invading England _ . He thought.

"I vould be pissed as vell, but like it or not, Captain Bernadotte, ve are stuck vorking togezer." The Major said bluntly.  _ Though, I'm still unsure whezer or not I am happy about zat. Vile I love ze war and ze prospect of zis new challenge, I really do not vant humanity to go extinct, and I don't like vorking vith Alucard. _ The Major thought.

"All because of those… those… does anyone even know what the bloody hell they are?" Seras asked.  _ I really hope I'm not the only one who's clueless, because it seems like I'm clueless about a lot of things, these days. _

"I vill repeat und stand by my earlier statement. Millennium ist not responsible for those creatures, nor do ve know vat zey are." The Major said.  _ I hope zey believe me. It vill be difficult to vork vith people who point fingers.  _ Lucky for the Major, everyone just  _ knew  _ from the tone of his voice that shockingly, he was telling the truth.

"As a monster expert, I've never met a creature that so much as resembled what we faced in London." Anderson said.  _ I hope someone has an idea of where they came from. There's no way that many creatures that were  _ that big _ could have possibly just appeared out of nowhere. _

"Neither have I." Heinkel said.  _ And based on the looks on their faces, I don't think anyone else has, either. _

"Hellsing hasn't encountered anything like this, either. What about you, Alucard?" Integra asked.  _ If  _ he  _ doesn't know, I really will be surprised, considering how long he's been on Earth.  _ Integra thought.

The Vampire King shrugged. "I have no idea. And though you know I love a challenge, not knowing how to kill these big bastards is a downright nuisance. Is this how you all feel every time you try to kill me?" Alucard asked, looking at the Millennium and Iscariot representatives.

"Ja."

"He finally feels our pain." Anderson said.

"Enough! We need to figure out what these things are and where they came from!"

"Um…" Everyone turned to face Schrodinger, who sheepishly had his hand raised.

"Schrodinger?" The Major asked, looking at his subordinate and giving him a motion that he could speak.

"Um… I may or may not know vere zese zings came from." The werecat said shyly.  _ Herr Major! Please don't be mad at me! Zis didn't matter before now, or I vould have told you! _

Eyebrows raised.

"As some of you know and some of you don't, I have ze ability to be everywhere und nowhere. Sometimes, exploring, I run into inter-dimensional barriers. Zough I cannot cross zese barriers, I can look zrough zem. I have seen zese creatures before, zey are from an alternate universe. But I don't know anyzing about zem."

"Ze Alternate Universe theory ist true? Und you neglected to tell us zis before, vhy?" The Major asked.

"It vas like twenty-five years ago! I only just remembered! Und Trust me, zose are not ze veirdest shit I've seen." Schrodinger said.  _ Certain zings vill haunt me forever. _

"Vell, just tell us everyzing you remember seeing, in detail."

"All I know, is zat in ze vorld zese zings come from, zey have driven ze human race into near extinction. Zere are less zan one billion humans in existence, und zey keep ze creatures out of zeir territory vith huge valls zat surround zeir country. Und I mean HUGE valls! Like, fifty meters in height und five meters thick! Zeir technology is only slightly more sophysticated zan it vas during Medieval times. Zat's it. Zat's all I know."

"Zat's it?"

"Ja."

"So, all we know now is that in an alternate universe, the only universe known to have faced this problem before,  _ they _ almost completely wiped out the human race." Integra said. She took a deep breath. "That doesn't exactly inspire much hope."

"It does for me." The Major said.

"How?"

"Did you hear ze last zing Schrodinger said? Zeir technology vas far inferior to ours. Zat gives us a far better chance zan zey had. Und zese valls. Zey must have had some vay of holding ze monsters off until zey vere completed. I.E: Zey figured out how to kill zem. I.E: Zey  _ can  _ be killed."  _ Did no one but me think of that? _ Montana Max Wondered.

"There are dozens of those things at the barrier right now. If we got some samples, do you think that mad Doctor of yours could figure  _ something  _ out?" Integra asked.

"No. Und not because of Doc's abilities."

"Then why not?" Anderson asked.  _ What did he mean by that? _

"As I told you, on ze Zeppelin, ve deployed Valter to try und kill zese zings."

"Yes, he died. So?" Integra asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Vat I did not have time to tell you vas zat he killed two of zem."

" _ What _ ? How?" Integra asked, standing up.

"Don't get so hopeful, Fraulein. Ve don't know. Ve think he did it on accident. Und after he killed zem, ze bodies  _ disappeared _ ."

"Disappeared?" Integra groaned, sitting back down.

"Ja. Disintegrated ist more like it. Steam rose from ze corpses, und ze flesh disappeared, und a few minutes later, ze bones disappeared, too. Like zey vere never zere."

"I can confirm this. Whenever I attacked them, the blood on my bayonets evaporated in seconds. And the same thing this one's describing happened to any limb we managed to cut off." Anderson said, gesturing to the Major.

"The same thing happened to me." Alucard said, confirming Anderson's statement with a nod.

"Did you just agree with me?" Anderson asked, genuinely shocked.  _ My God, Alucard agreeing with me about something? Maybe peace really is possible! _

"Look, If the human race goes extinct, then my fledgling and I will eventually wither up and end up in some dark corner, cave, or dungeon somewhere, dried up like a raisin and unable to move for eternity because there's no human blood left to keep us sustained. I don't think I can imagine a more miserable existence. Therefore, Sir Integra for once doesn't have to use the seals to get me to work with you assholes. As much as I want to shoot all of your heads off, it's in all of our best interests, mine included, to keep as many of you alive as I can."  _ And that's the Gospel truth, Catholic. _ Alucard wanted to add, but he held his tongue.

"I didn't even consider that, but Alucard's right. And he brings up yet another interesting point. There are presently two true Vampires on the estate, both of which are in this room, and there are sixty-nine more  _ artificial  _ vampires elsewhere on the estate, either outside or downstairs,  _ Major _ . How  _ exactly  _ do we plan on  _ feeding  _ them?"

Anderson and the Major blinked at her for about two seconds as they thought about it, before saying simultaneously, "Shit."

"She has a point. If they go hungry for too long, especially with the Millennium Vampires, it will be a bloodbath in here in a matter of days." Heinkel said in her slight German accent. If you listened to her, she definitely had a German accent, but it was so slight that it did not affect her english, notably her 'w's, 'th's, and the words 'and', 'yes', and 'no', as much as it did with the Major, Schrodinger, Doc, or the other members of Millennium.

"Ja. Especially my vounded soldiers. Zey vill require more blood zan usual for zeir bodies to regenerate." The Major said, nodding.

"If I may, my Master, form where I stand, that leaves us with two options." Alucard said, "A: we sacrifice the wounded and use their blood to keep myself, Seras, and the other vampires sustained for at least a few weeks. I don't think that option is smart, considering how low our numbers are right now.

"Personally, I think B is the better choice. Hellsing has thousands of empty blood bags in crates in one of the uninhabited parts of the dungeons, just in case we were ever under siege, and this ever needed to be done for a long period of time, as well as the proper equipment needed to draw blood with. There are presently one-hundred twenty-five humans on the estate. And yes, that includes yourself and that Doctor of yours, Major. I'm very aware that you're both cyborgs, but your bodies still produce their own blood that is genetically one-hundred percent human. I can smell it. As I was saying, the humans outnumber the vampires. All that we need to do is have the humans take turns having blood drawn every few days to keep us vampires fed. No one has to die.

"Though, there is option C, which involves us doing nothing and waiting for Millennium's vampires to go crazy. That would result in a battle that would likely leave most of you humans dead, as Seras and I would be weakened from a lack of blood, making it difficult for us to fight. Leaving Anderson, what's left of Iscariot, and Millennium's Captain as your best lines of defense."

"I'm with Master. Option B sounds way better!" Seras interjected.

"Same." Captain Bernadotte said, looking pale.  _ Sheesh, Alucard, nice image!  _ Pip thought.

"I agree with Alucard. I can't think of any more options, and that's the best one. Does anyone have any other ideas?" Sir Integra asked.

" _ Nein _ ." The Major said, shaking his head. "I never zought I vould be agreeing vith Alucard, but I accept his proposal."

"I cannae think of anything else, either. And I actually agree with the two of you. B is our best option." Anderson said, "What about you, Heinkel?"

"I can't think of anything else. At least until another option presents itself, we need to stick with B." She said.

Integra turned to the Major. "Major, would you have that werecat of yours run down and start compiling a list of all of the human's names and blood types?"

"Ja. Schrödinger can do zat. Schrödinger?"

The werecat immediately stood at attention. "Ja, Herr Major! I can do it!" He said with a bright smile. He immediately deadpanned, then started patting himself all over. "Sir, I just need a pen and a paper."

Integra opened one of her drawers in her desk and procured a notepad and pen, and slid them across the table. Schrodinger picked them up.

"Before you go, you'd might as vell write down  _ our  _ names und blood types. Put me down as 'Major Montana Max'. My blood type ist B negative."

"Your first name is-?" Integra started to ask, but the Major cut her off.

"Montana? Incredibly American? Vone of ze  _ least  _ German names you've ever heard? Ja. Und nein, I don't know vat my parents vere zinking, either." He said, shaking his head. "Vhy do you zink I  _ alvays  _ just go by 'Major'?"

"Fair enough." She said, trying to hide a smirk.

"Sir Integra, vould you like me to write yours down?" Schrödinger asked.

"Yes, put me down as 'Sir Integra Hellsing'. My blood type is A positive."

"You'd best not put me down at all. I'm a regenerator. My blood is enhanced. I dinnae what effect that would have on any vampire that were to drink it." Anderson said.

There were nods from almost everyone else in the room.

"That's fair. Und vhat ist yours, Captain Bernadotte?" Schrödinger asked, turning to the frenchman.

"Pip Bernadotte. Mine's O positive." Pip said.

"How do you spell zat?" Schrodinger asked.

"It's B-E-R-N-A-D-O-T-T-E." Pip said, spelling it out.

"Ja. I got it. Und, should I put you down too, Ms. Wolfe?" Schrodinger asked Heinkel.

"Heinkel Wolfe. AB positive." She said bluntly.

"Ja! I got it.  _ Auf Wiedersehen _ , Herr Major und Capitan!" Schrodinger said with a wave as he dashed out the door.

"Well, now that we know how the  _ vampires  _ are getting their food, how long are the  _ humans  _ going to last?" Anderson asked.

"Hellsing's staff is  _ usually  _ made up of a few hundred soldiers. At least it  _ was _ , until _ a certain someone _ sent in the Valentine Brothers and killed off over ninety percent of our staff." Sir Integra said, sending a pointed look at the Major.

"Jaaaaa… Sorry about zat." The Major said with an awkward grin.  _ Is she still not over that? _

Integra sighed. "The past is in the past. Anyway, we have enough MREs to last  _ a few _ hundred people several months. Plus, we have large gardens growing behind the estate that should boost our food supply a little bit. Considering there is a total of one-hundred and thirty people who need to eat, I'd say all that will last us even longer. Even longer than that if we ration food. I  _ would _ ask  _ Walter _ to go do inventory and do the math for us, but…  _ Major _ ."

" _ Sorry _ ! I saved your ass! I zought ve vere good!"  _ Ven she puts it in perspective, I vould have shot me by now if I vere in her place. _ The Major thought.

"Nope. Still pissed at you."

Behind her, Alucard and Seras were glaring at the Major, nodding in agreement with their boss. Pip, who hadn't been there for the Valentine Massacre and had gotten employed because of it, was merely nodding.

"Anyway, Seras, take a few of the Wild Geese down to the part of the dungeons used for storage and take inventory of how many MREs and canned goods we have. Then go do inventory on how many blood bags we have." Integra ordered.

"Heinkel. Go roundup some non-injured, non-occupied members of Iscariot or Vatican Soldiers, either is fine, about five or ten will do, and send them to help Seras and those Mercenaries do inventory." Anderson ordered.

"Capitan. Go round up some soldiers und do ze same." The Major ordered. "Ve had might as vell start getting our soldiers used to working with Hellsing and Vatican soldiers." He added.

"Fazer Anderson, I do not feel comfortable leaving you alone vith zese-"

"Heinkel! I can bloody defend myself!" Anderson snapped.

" _ Es ist nicht sicher. _ "  **("It's not safe.")** The Captain said, looking down at his Major, and glancing around warily at the members of Hellsing and Iscariot.

"It's quite alright, Hans. I trust zem." The Major said.

Hans knew that his Major only ever addressed him by his real name when he  _ really  _ meant something. And he trusted his Major's judgement. It was no secret that in the art of combat, the Major was completely helpless  _ and  _ hopeless. His strength and stamina were weak, and his aim with a firearm was nothing short of pathetic. And he knew it. The Major and Doc could often be heard playfully picking on the fact.  _ But _ , the Major was probably the smartest person Hans knew, whether it be booksmart, common sense, or strategics ( _ especially  _ strategics), the Major was proficient in all of them. In any case, Hans trusted the fat cyborg's judgement more than any other being on the planet. That was why (despite his chip having been broken for years with no one but him realizing it) he continued to follow Millennium. If not for it's  _ very  _ capable leader, he likely would have abandoned the former Nazi organization decades ago.  _ If zey kill you vile I am gone, it is your fault, Herr Major. But I think I vill still be sad. _ Hans thought.

For all of those reasons, Hans nodded at his Major, sent a warning glare to everyone else in the room, and left to carry out his order.

As soon as Hans was gone, everyone turned to the Major with utterly stunned looks on their faces. "Vat? I trust you." The Major shrugged with a smile.

"That was either the bravest thing I've ever seen, or the stupidest." Anderson said.  _ How is he so comfortable, already? I'm alone in here actually  _ able  _ to defend myself, and the hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end! _

"You're in here alone, too." The Major said to Anderson.

" _ I'm  _ 'Saint Guillotine' Anderson, the man of many bayonets.  _ I  _ can defend myself.  _ You  _ can't."

"Ja. But I trust you. Ve are all in zis. Und ve had might as vell start trusting each ozer."

" _ Seras _ , why haven't you left yet?" Sir Integra asked the blonde vampire, swiftly changing the subject.

"Eep! Sorry, Sir Integra! I'll be right on it!" Seras said, but as she started to go, a gloved hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Forgive me, my Master, but I don't like the idea of my fledgling, my  _ female  _ fledgling, going anywhere without me with all of these… potential threats on our territory." Alucard said.

"So much for trust." The Major chuckled.

"Believe it or not, you and Anderson, I trust to keep your word. All of your men? Not so much.  _ Especially _ your men, Major." Alucard snarled.

"Why is that? I was perfectly fine with sending Yumie and Heinkel." Anderson said.

"None of you would understand, because you're not vampires. Seras is _my_ fledgling. My blood runs through her veins. She _smells_ powerful, she's single, she's a virgin, and frankly, she's _attractive_. I'm not _just_ worried about someone trying to kill her. You humans can't smell it, and other occult creatures aren't _as_ affected by it. But to a _male_ _vampire_ looking for a mate or even just a f**k, she looks and smells _irresistible_. I don't know if artificial vampires would be affected the same way, but when my fledgling's safety is a concern, I don't want to take the chance and find out." Alucard said. "For these reasons, I would like to keep Seras with me as much as possible."

Seras opened her mouth to defend herself, but the Major started talking, first.

"Sir Integra, I vould like to, how do you say,  _ support _ , vat Alucard just said. As you know, ve had a few female Lieutenants. Rip Van Winkle und Zorin Blitz. Sexual harassment vas a big problem for ze longest time vith zose two. Ze male vampires just vould not leave zem alone. *Cough* Jan Valentine *cough*. About the fifth or sixth attempted rape, I finally told zem zey vere allowed to kill anyvone who tried to do anyzing. So ja, Alucard's concerns are legitimate, und I vould recommend he keep his fledgling close." The Major said.

"Very well.  _ Mr. Bernadotte _ , go roundup five or six of your men and lead the Millennium and Vatican members assigned to help you down to the dungeons to do inventory?" Sir Integra ordered Pip.

"Oui. If it ensures nothing happens to  _ Ma Chere _ , Sir Integra." The long-haired Mercenary said, walking out.

"Wait a minute! I'm armed! I can take care of myself!" Seras interjected.

The Major shook his head and spoke just as Alucard was opening his mouth. " _ Nein, Fraulein _ ." He said. "Ze incident vich caused me to give Zorin und Herr Winkle permission to kill happened about thirty years ago. My men 'hang out' in groups most of ze time. Ten of zem ganged up on Herr Winkle und ripped all of her clothes off. If Herr Captain had not come along vhen he did, zey vould have had zeir vicked vay vith her. My men obey orders most of ze time, but zere are quite a few unsavory characters amongst zem. Plus, ze Iscariots. You are a vampire und a Protestant. I know Fazer Anderson und most of zem vouldn't under zese circumstances, but if even one decides to start something… Best if you stay vith your Master." The Major said.

"I have to agree with the two of you. It's best if you just stick close to Alucard, or at least with a group of the Wild Geese. I don't want you wandering around, alone." Sir Integra said. "At least until most of the men have proven themselves to be trustworthy." She said.

Seras looked around at everyone, then sighed in defeat and looked up at her Master. "A-alright, then." She said, stepping just a little bit closer to Alucard.

"Speaking of which, Alucard, Seras, I want you two to go to the border and start experimenting with how to kill these bastards. Alucard, you will go beyond the border and try different methods of killing them. Attack different spots. According to Millennium, there  _ is  _ a way to kill them. Walter managed to kill two before he was overwhelmed. All we need to do is figure out what that way is. Seras, don't you step one foot over that line. Stay safe on this side and watch Alucard's attacks. If he manages to kill one, take note of every spot he wounded. Eventually, we just might be able to narrow it down to one weakness." Integra said.

"Ja. Zat is a good plan. Und I vill send Hans und Schoodinger to help you if und ven zere is nozing to do." The Major said.

"I'd join you as well, but as Iscariot's leader, I have work to do, and things to talk over with these two." Anderson said, gesturing to the Major and Integra "And I don't want any of my men to get hurt. I'm the only regenerator. The others will die if they go out there."

"Forgive me again, my Master, but I don't trust these two. They could turn on you in an instant. I don't like that." Alucard said.

"Alucard, both of these men saved my life at least once today. And I made the trip here, on  _ his  _ Zeppelin, surrounded by Nazis and Catholics, alone no less, yet neither of them allowed their subordinates to do anything to me. As unbelievable as it sounds, I actually have a smidgen of trust in them. And besides,  _ the Major _ sent all of his men away. I won't look like a coward." Integra said.

Alucard smirked. "Of course not, my Master. But I still don't like it." He said, moving towards the door. "Come, Police Girl." Alucard said, as he opened it and stepping out into the hall.

"Y-yes sir!" Seras said, picking up her gun and running after him.

As soon as the doors shut, Sir Integra took her cigar out of her mouth and exhaled a cloud of smoke. She stuck it back between her lips and said to the other two leaders, "Now that we're alone, let's talk business."

 


	4. IV: Zorin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zorin Blitz appears, and a deal is struck!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been awhile! Enjoy!

Between the tense atmosphere, the fact that the Millennium FREAKS were so used to being fed fresh kills, the sheer number of virgins there were in Iscariot and Hellsing, and what horrible, greedy people they all were to begin with, it wasn’t surprising at all that the first people to start shit were from Millennium. Ten of them, made an attempt in the middle of the second night, to drain a few members of Iscariot and a few of the Wild Geese dry. Unluckily for them, there was a certain Werecat on watch on all times, and let’s just say that one stony white-haired werewolf massacred them all before they could bite a single human. The vampires all had FREAK blood for breakfast. And there was also quite a bit of apologizing to Integra and Anderson by a certain Major for the actions of his men.

Alucard and Seras returned to Sir Integra’s office the morning after Integra sent them on their little  _ ‘mission’ _ . Well, more accurately, Seras did. Alucard, for some reason, phased straight to the dungeons via his shadows. Seras reported to Integra, the Major, and Anderson alone. 

“So, you didn’t figure out how to kill them?” Integra sighed, rubbing her temples. 

“No. Master only managed to kill one, and that was when he was so frustrated, he completely obliterated it with his shadows. There were too many wounds to determine which one killed it, and it disintegrated before I could even see them all.”

“Speaking of Alucard, vere is he? Surely he didn’t get so tired that he retired so soon?” The Major asked with a smirk. 

“Oh, Master, well…pfft.” Seras looked like she was looking for the words, but then, she bit her bottom lip, and looked like she was trying not to laugh. 

“What?” Anderson asked. 

“Master…” She  _ tried  _ to answer him, but then burst into a fit of giggles. 

_ “Not a single…  _ **_word_ ** _ … Police girl.”  _ Alucard’s voice warned dangerously from the walls, themselves. Not used to it like Seras and Integra were, the Major and Anderson both jumped in surprise.  

The warning only made it worse. Seras doubled over and burst out laughing. “I’m sorry Master, it’s just- BWAHAHAHAHAHA!” Seras tried to say between laughter. 

“What?” The three leaders asked. 

_ “You will say nothing!” _

“On my orders, she will! Now what is it that has you so tickled, Seras?” Integra demanded.

“Well… tehehe, Master got really… pfft… frustrated at one point when we were trying to kill them.” Seras said between giggles, wiping tears from her eyes. “He tried to see if drinking their blood would tell him anything and well…” She burst into giggles again. 

“Well, what?” 

“You know the way their blood and corpses... disintegrate into steam?” Seras asked, trying and failing to keep it together. 

“Yes, what does that have to do with- oh my  _ God _ !” Sir Integra said, putting two and two together at last.

Seras burst into laughter, again. “BWAHAHA! OMYGOD, THERE WAS STEAM COMING OUT OF LITERALLY EVERY OPENING! HIS NOSE, HIS EARS, HIS MOUTH! HE LOOKED LIKE A BLOODY DRAGON! YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE LOOK ON HIS FACE!” She laughed. 

Just picturing it, The Major, whom everyone knew did not give a f**k about what anyone else thought about him nor about anyone else’s feelings, busted out laughing with no holding back and no shame. 

Anderson, who cared a bit more, bit his bottom lip at first, then put his hand over his mouth and started laughing. 

Integra, who had more control than the rest of them, steepled her fingers and leaned forwards on her desk, trying to hold it together, but finally, the mental image of Alucard shouting and running around in an angry panic with steam coming uncontrollably out of his mouth, ears, and nose was just too hilarious, even for her, and she started giggling. 

_ “It’s not funny!”  _ Alucard’s voice sounded, again.

The only bright side to the ridiculous scene was that this was the first light-hearted thing to happen to anyone in  _ days _ .

Alucard was saved by the bell. More accurately, by the Doktor. Just then, Doc burst into the room and doubled over, panting. “Major… Fraulein Integra… Fazer Anderson…” 

“Herr Doktor, breathe, zen use your vords.” The Major said, wiping a tear out of his eye and struggling to control his giggles.

Herr Doktor took a few more breaths and finally panted, “Sturmführer Zorin Blitz… she ist alive!”

“Vat?!” 

 

In another life, one in which the Titans did not appear, Sturmführer Zorin Blitz and her men would be responsible for the deaths of all of the Wild Geese except for two, before being massacred by an awoken, furious, and grieving Seras Victoria. In this timeline, however, no one working for Hellsing had yet had the pleasure of meeting the mind-meddling, sadistic Nazi artificial vampire. That, changed today. 

When the three leaders arrived at the scene, there was a large crowd gathered around one area of the barrier about a half mile in front of the mansion. Therefore, there was also an increased number of monsters around that area, looking at the crowd of tiny figures with their huge, emotionless eyes and creepy smiles. 

Schrodinger immediately ran up to the four as they jogged over to the group. “Major! It’s Zorin!” 

“Ja, ja! Doc told us. Vere ist she?” The Major asked. 

“She ist in a tree about two hundred meters avay from ze barrier. But ven everyone came over to look at vat vas going on, it attracted  unvanted attention, und now ve can’t see her through zese things!” The werecat said, pointing beyond the barrier. 

While Schrodinger had been talking, Alucard and Hans had walked over to their Masters, followed by Pip, Seras, Yumie, and Heinkel. A few attempts were made to get everyone else’s attention, but no one could make themselves heard above the chatter. Finally, Sir Integra rolled her eyes, reached into her coat, pulled out her gun, and fired it three times in the air. Now that she had everyone’s attention, she addressed the crowd. 

“Now that I have everyone’s attention, it is to my understanding that an asset of Millennium’s by the name of Zorin Blitz is stuck in a tree not too far beyond the barrier. But, we can’t do much to figure out how to help her with these monsters blocking the view.” 

“Shut up, you protestant whore!” A Papal Knight yelled. There was a lot of laughter. 

Alucard immediately pulled out his gun, the Jackal. “Next person to insult or interrupt my Master gets a bullet in their heads!” He snarled. 

The Major and Dok looked at each other and grimaced at the sight of the gun, remembering that there was a remote-controlled explosive inside it, and knowing that they were not supposed to be enemies with Hellsing or Alucard anymore.  _ ‘Should ve say something?’ _ The Doktor mouthed at the Major. The Major shook his head.  _ ‘Later.’ _ He mouthed back.

At Alucard’s threat, there were no more interruptions. 

“Thank you, Alucard.” Sir Integra said. “Now, I need all of you to split up into two groups. Run in opposite directions along the barrier and make a lot of noise. We need to get these things to move so we can see… Zorin and decide how to help her.” 

The Wild Geese immediately divided in half and started obeying Sir Integra, but the Catholics and Nazis had other ideas. 

“You heard Sir Hellsing! Hop to it!” Anderson barked. Once the Angel’s Dust told them to, they obeyed. 

“Doc,” The Major said. Doc knew what his Major wanted him to do. He pulled a certain button out of his coat, and eyes immediately widened in alarm. 

“I can push all sorts of buttons un zis zing.” Doc threatened. “Herr Major said you listen to Sir Integra und Fazer Anderson just like you listen to him, Hans, or myself. Now,  _ gehorchen _ !”

Fearing for their very lives, the Nazis immediately started  _ enthusiastically  _ yelling and screaming, waving their arms, and running after the Catholics and Mercenaries. And just like Sir Integra planned, the monsters lumbered after them. 

Now, they could see Zorin’s predicament. 

She was perched at the very top of a tall tree, clutching the trunk and her scythe for dear life. There was one five-meter and two ten-meter monsters clawing feebly at the trunk, looking up at her with drool running down their chins. She was lucky that the fifteen meters in the area were distracted by the people in the barrier, or they’d have gotten her. 

No one really knew nor cared where he’d gotten it from, but Schrodinger handed a megaphone to the Major. The fat little man tapped it it twice to test it, then said to his subordinate through it,  **“Nice to see you alive, Sturmführer.”**

“HERR MAJOR, IST ZAT YOU?!” She yelled back. 

**“Ja.”**

“I’VE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER TO HEAR ANYONE’S VOICE IN MY ENTIRE F**KING LIFE!!!”

**“Language! But I’m glad to see you too, Fraulein. Ve need all ze help ve can get!”**

“Did anyone else just hear him say ‘language’?” Pip said. Alucard and Anderson chuckled. 

“IST ZAT SIR INTEGRA, FAZER ANDERSON, ALUCARD, UND MR. BERNADOTTE STANDING NEXT TO YOU?”

**“Ja.”**

“YOU VERE SERIOUS ABOUT ZAT?!”

**“Ja.”**

“AM I DEAD?”

**“Fraulein, ve both know you are undead. But no, you’re not dead-dead, yet. Now, you are in quite a predicament, und I zink I have an idea of how to get you out of it.”**

“I’M ALL EARS!!!”

The Major turned to Sir Integra and put his hand over the microphone. “I’ve got Hans und Schrodinger to distract two of zem. May I borrow Alucard to distract number zree?”

“If you think it will help. Alucard?” 

“I can do it, my Master.” Alucard said with a bow. 

The Major turned back to Zorin.  **“Zorin. Alucard, Schrodinger, und Herr Captain are going to distract ze creatures at ze bottom of ze tree. Zen, ve need you to make a run for it.”**

And Zorin reacted just as a lot of people would. “F**K THAT!!!”

The Major sighed and once again put his hand over the microphone. “You see vat I have to deal vith?” He said. Sir Integra gave him a knowing look. 

The Major went back to the megaphone.  **“Ve could alvays leave you zere to be eaten up ven one tall enough to reach you shows up!”**

“FINE! I’LL DO IT! BUT IF I DIE DOING ZIS  _ KACKE _ , IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!!!”

**“I vill be absolutely** **_inconsolable_ ** **.”** The Major said sarcastically. 

There were a few chuckles from Alucard, Pip, Anderson, and Doc.

The Major made a motion with his head to go, and the Captain, Schrodinger, and Alucard bolted forwards and across the barrier, though Schrodinger was pretty far behind the other two. As though by some silent communication, Alucard took the ten meter on the left, and Hans took the ten meter on the right, while Schrodinger took the five meter. 

Alucard fired his Casull at the back of the ten-meter’s head. “Hey!” He shouted. The ugly creature slowly turned around. It was an unnaturally thin, lanky thing with a small square head, a droopy face, long dirty-blonde hair, hideously long legs, and unusually short arms. It’s  _ creepy  _ smile stretched across its face, and though it’s dead-eyed expression did not change, Alucard just knew that it was happy to see the easier-to-reach prey.

At the same time Alucard’s was bumbling towards him, Schrodinger was dealing with his own. “Hallo  _ hässlich _ !” He said merrily, appearing on top of it’s head. The crosseyed five-meter had tiny hands, a large head, squinty eyes, and a bulging belly. It made a swipe for the werecat, but missed by a mile. It turned around when it realized it missed, and Schrodinger stuck his tongue out at it. “Nya nya nya nya nya nya!” He crowed, slapping himself on the butt and running off for the ugly bastard to give chase. 

As Alucard and Schrodinger lured theirs away, Hans jumped up and kicked the last one in the back. It turned around, just as planned. This one did not look as dead-eyed as the other two. Rather, it had a permanent case of resting bitch face, with a permanent scowl on it’s visage. When it’s eyes were on Hans, the wolfman did not say a word, but he made a motion with his hand to say  _ ‘bring it on’ _ . And just as planned, it started walking towards him. 

Once the monsters were moving away from the tree, Zorin climbed down as fast as she could. And as soon as she was on the bottom branch, she jumped to the ground and made a beeline for the barrier. 

Unfortunately and miraculously, there was a fifteen meter hiding behind a tree. How it managed to stay out of the sight of everyone including the vampires, werecat (who was everywhere and nowhere, no less), and werewolf, was beyond comprehension. But, it leapt out at Zorin and caught her in it’s meaty fist. Zorin tried to go for it’s fingers, but her scythe wasn’t at a good angle to do so. It was lifting her towards its mouth, it’s jaws were opening unusually wide, but just as Zorin was about to suffer the same fate as her men… Seras finally gave in to her conscience. 

The fledgling vampire exploded across the barrier with a battle cry, heaved her cannon over her shoulder, and said, “Bitches love cannons.” Before firing the gigantic thing and blasting it’s head off with an explosion of blood, teeth, bone fragments, and brain tissue. 

It fell to the ground and it’s hands fell to the ground, but Seras could tell by the steam rising only from it’s stump that it wasn’t dead, yet. 

“SERAS!” Pip and Integra roared. 

But Seras ran to Zorin and ripped it’s giant fingers away. She grabbed the other vampiress by the arm and half-led half-dragged her back to the barrier shouting, “COME ON! RUN!” And usually proud, arrogant Zorin did  _ not  _ need to be told twice. 

As soon as the two collapsed in a heap on the other side of the barrier, Schrodinger, Hans, and Alucard stopped taunting the creatures and took off towards the barrier, too.  _ They  _ made it across with no trouble, whatsoever. 

Schrodinger, like the girls, collapsed onto his back, happy to be alive. He knew that if they got him, he wouldn’t die because of his ability to be  _ ‘everywhere and nowhere’ _ , but being chased around by that thing was frightening, all the same. 

Panting, Seras stood up, only to be jumped by a worried mercenary, an angry and worried Sir Integra, and her proud yet still upset Master.

“Ma chere’!”

“Seras Victoria! What the hell were you thinking?”

“Police girl! You could have been killed!” Alucard scolded with a hint of pride.

Seras knew the danger. She knew it was stupid. She knew what  _ could  _ have happened. But… something inside her just wouldn’t let Zorin Blitz die. And that’s exactly what she told them. “I’m sorry. But… I just couldn’t let her die when there was something I could do to save her!”

And that was that.

 

After being given some blood and a few hours of rest, Zorin sat down with the leaders in Sir Integra’s office and told them her story. 

Shortly after getting off the phone with the Major, a large ape-like creature and a creature that appeared to be covered in armor had been spotted below the Zeppelin. The ape-like creature, the  _ beast _ ,  had pointed at the Zeppelin, and immediately, the other creatures had picked up trees, rocks, even smaller monsters, and hurled them at the Zeppelin with all their might. There was nothing they could have done. The Zeppelin came down in minutes, and the men didn’t have much hope, from there. Zorin and about fifty others survived by jumping into the trees and running away, branch to branch, while the monsters were busy eating the others.

While fighting her way through the wilderness, Zorin eventually lost every single one of her remaining men to branches that broke beneath their feet (falling into open mouths), missteps (which caused them to fall into open mouths), areas with no trees where they had to make a run for it, and countless giant fingers and snapping jaws. Zorin survived because of her superior strength and speed and by using her illusions. 

Zorin told them that the creatures did not feel fear. She tried every terrifying illusion she knew and invented a few new ones, but none of them worked. The creatures had  _ no  _ thoughts _ , no  _ emotions and were driven only by the desire to eat people. The only time Zorin’s illusions worked was when she made illusions of people. Only then, did the creatures react. Zorin figured out that by making fake people make  a lot of noise and run away, she could distract the creatures long enough to get away. 

Zorin also figured out another incredibly valuable piece of information: they were completely inactive at night. According to Zorin, a few minutes after the sun disappeared from the sky completely, the creatures sort of just fell or slumped over wherever they were and did not move. Most of them didn’t close their eyes, so she didn’t think they were sleeping, but she could stand on them, and they didn’t move. But seconds after the sunlight touched them, they were up and about, again. 

From that information, Doc theorized that they may somehow get their energy from the sun. Which raised the question: why the f**k did they eat people so ravenously if they didn’t get their energy from eating them? Was there a reason at all? But of course, that was only a hypothesis, and there was no way to prove or disprove it. 

It also raised another question: if they were inactive at night, how and why was their first appearance at night? The Battle of London and Zorin’s Zeppelin crashing both happened at night. So how did that happen?

Did the mysterious ape-like or armored creature Zorin described have something to do with it? They could only hypothesize. 

Back to Zorin, the fact that they were awake while she had to take shelter from the sun and that she was awake while they were inactive made it incredibly hard for Zorin to survive during the day, but easy for her to travel far at night. 

Zorin got stuck in a tree when she got close to Hellsing because unlike the ones she’d already encountered, the ones knocking on Hellsing’s border  _ were  _ active at night, for some reason. This raised even more questions. Questions that could only be answered with more information. And that could only be gathered with guess what? An expedition. The first attempt to leave Hellsing since their arrival there two nights ago. 

They weren’t ready for such an excursion yet. That was for sure. Things were still settling down and things were still tense. Not to mention that plans and backup plans would have to be made. Sir Integra, Anderson, and the Major all thought that it would be at least a week before they could make their first attempt. 

And so, the planning began...

Seras Victoria was walking down one of the hallways in the area of the mansion that had been temporarily turned into a hospital. She wasn’t needed anywhere else, at the moment and didn’t know how else she could help other than to do something to help the wounded. 

Following the revelations delivered to the Survivors by Zorin Blitz, Sir Integra, The Major, and Anderson had holed themselves up in Sir Integra’s office and had only come out to sleep and for meals (which the Major  _ definitely  _ wasn’t going to miss, considering how much the food was being rationed). Seras was almost positive that they were planning their first expedition beyond the barrier. That was where the conversation had been going when everyone but the three leaders had been kicked out of the office a few days ago. 

Sir Integra was smart and cared enough about people enough that Seras knew she’d make sure the plan cost them as few lives as possible. She was always calm under pressure and for sure, was a woman who could make even the most powerful men in the world tremble. That was why Alucard liked her so much. 

Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing: descendant of the great vampire hunter Van Hellsing and the last surviving member of the Hellsing family. Father died of cancer when she was young, and her Uncle tried to murder her when Sir Arthur named Integra as heir to the Hellsing Family instead of him. She ran down to the basement on her father’s instruction, ran into Alucard, and the rest is history. 

Anderson had more actual combat experience than the other two combined, so he would definitely see any holes in the plan they might miss. He was quite sadistic towards those he perceived as ‘Heathens and Monsters’, but Seras knew that he was a good man, from her few conversations with Yumie and Heinkel. He ran an  _ orphanage _ , after all. 

Father Alexander Anderson. From what she’d heard from some members of Iscariot, all that was known about him was that he was a mafia assassin before something big happened to him or someone he cared about, which resulted in him going through a serious depression. He found solace in God and the Catholic faith, repented his past sins, and became a priest. But his unusual occult skills (I.E, the bayonetts and teleporting bible pages) resulted in him getting invited to join Section 13 and getting drafted for Iscariot’s Regenerator Project sometime just after the end of World War Two. And as they say, the rest is history.

Then, there was the Major, whom from the few words Seras had exchanged with him, was just as if not even smarter than Sir Integra. Just as fiery, too. Despite his small stature, poor vision, poor aim, terrible stamina, and  _ weight _ , he was certainly a little spitfire, that was for sure. But from Seras’ conversations with him, she also perceived him as someone who, despite his intelligence, did not know nor care very much about human emotions. Not his own, nor the emotions of others. He always had a calm look on his face and held himself in a way that Seras would describe as regal. He was  _ always  _ clean and  _ always  _ had his hair and fingernails properly groomed. Not to mention the scent of shampoo and just the right amount of cologne that wafted from him whenever Seras walked past him.

But, Seras couldn’t really make any definite conclusions about the man. Between the three leaders, he was the one who was known the least about. He was born and raised in Germany under the third reich, obviously. Joined the SS at some point, by some miracle got the rank of lieutenant, and was hand chosen by Hitler himself to lead The Last Battalion. He and the rest of Millennium got their asses kicked by Alucard and Walter sometime during near the end of World War Two and with the help of the Vatican, escaped to a base in Brazil for about fifty years. The rest, is history. 

But before that, where did he come from?

When did the little man fall in love with the battlefield?

When did he become the warmonger he was now?

Seras didn’t know why she was thinking about the  _ Major _ , of all people. Maybe being cooped up at Hellsing with her former enemies for over half a week was starting to get to her. Or maybe, like any of the others, she was just being  forced to look at her former enemies in a new light. 

It was becoming a common sight to see members of different organizations making small talk, with no violence whatsoever. Sure, as expected, several fights had broken out in the five days they had been trapped within the barrier. All but one of them had been started by members of Millennium. And the other one was started by one hot-headed member of Iscariot. Anderson hadn’t even been surprised when he found out which of his men had done it. 

Aside from the fights, all of the soldiers were being forced to mix together. They ate  _ together _ , their injured comrades were in the same wing of the estate  _ together _ , they were stuck at Hellsing Manor  _ together _ , and they all knew that they were going to be stuck fighting those monsters  _ together _ . So, it wasn’t surprising that some of them were beginning to look past what uniform they were wearing. The only time they were ever separated by side was when the went to sleep… and there was a reason for that. 

The Wild Geese had already had a wing of the estate to themselves to sleep in. It was Hellsing Manor, and they had already lived there, after all. Pip had his own room and everyone else had a roommate or two. Integra had her bedroom down the hall from her office, and of course, Alucard and Seras had their rooms set up in the dungeons. 

For the Catholics, a wing of the estate had been commissioned as the place to sleep, and many beds, cots, and even a few hammocks had been haphazardly set up there in the rooms and hallways for them to sleep in. The men and women had separate rooms. It was the best they could do. Out of respect, the only one who had his  _ own  _ room there was Father Anderson. 

As for Millennium, the  _ Deus Ex Machina  _ was parked right beside Hellsing Manor.  _ That  _ was where Millennium slept. They already had a huge part of the ship filled with coffins for the soldiers, and Zorin, Doc, Schrodinger, Hans, and the Major all had sleeping quarters there, as well. So there wasn’t a need for them to sleep in the mansion. 

Hence, why the three organizations were divided when they slept. 

Seras was so deep in thought, that she accidentally bumped into someone. She looked up, and realized it was Zorin Blitz. The other vampire turned around, and she didn’t look happy. Uh-oh. 

“Vatch vere you are going, Fraulein!” She snapped. 

“S-sorry.” Seras said, hoping she wasn’t about to get beat up. 

“Vait, you’re Seras Wictoria.” 

“Y-yes.” 

Zorin looked like she was thinking really hard about something. Then, she looked at Seras and said, “You saved my  _ arsch  _ ze ozer day. I don’t have much choice ozer zan to admit it. So… if anyone gives you any shit, just come tell me und I’ll kick their  _ arsch _ .”

Seras was too shocked for words. All she could get out was “O-okay. D-don’t mention it.”

Zorin gave her a curt nod, then went on her way. 

Seras sighed in relief once she was gone. She’d thought for sure that the other vampire was about to kick her ass, with the look that had been on her face. 

“ _ Beeindruckend _ .” A deep german voice said behind her. Seras nearly jumped out of her skin, and turned around to see Dok poking his head out of one of the rooms. 

“Zat ist ze closest zing to an apology slash zank you I hast ever seen come from Sturmführer Zorin Blitz. Zen again, she ist ze second strongest member of Millennium, behind Herr Capitan. I don’t zink she’s ever experienced someone saving her life, before.”

“Doc! You scared me!” 

“Oh.  _ Es tut mir leid _ , Fraulein.”

“I don’t speak German, so I’m just going to assume that means  _ ‘I’m sorry’ _ .”

“Ja. Vat brings you down zis vay?” He asked, stepping out of the room. Seras noticed that his clothes didn’t have as much blood on them as they had the other day. Maybe it was because he didn’t have anything to dissect, and all of the bloody work with the wounded had been over for days. 

“Uh, I’m not needed anywhere else and uh, I wanted to do  _ something _ so…” 

“Ja. I vas just about to start today’s blood drive. You can help me hunt people down so they can do zeir turn.”

“Okay!” Seras said excitedly. 

Alucard was sitting in his dungeon, stirring a glass of wine mixed with blood. Noticing someone entering, the vampire king did not look up. He just said, “You know, the last member of the Last Battalion to set foot in this room ended up dog food. But I think that would be ironic if it were to happen to you,  _ Werewolf _ .” Alucard looked up and saw Hans standing in the same place Walter had several weeks ago. 

“So, what brings you down here?” Alucard asked. 

“Ve both have people ve vant to protect.” The Captain said. Alucard knew immediately that he was referring to that Major of his. Honestly, for a guy with a chip in his neck, he sure did seem to actually  _ care  _ about the little spitfire quite a bit.

“I’m guessing you’re referring to that fat Major of yours.” Alucard said. 

“Ja. Und you care about Seras Wictoria und Fraulein Integra.” 

“Suppose I do. Why are you here?” Alucard asked. 

“I vish to make a deal vith you.”

“So do I.” A voice said from the stairs. Alucard had sensed his presence, but hadn’t acknowledged it until now. Alexander Anderson walked into the room and stood next to Hans. 

“Welcome. I guess  _ ‘Domain of the Vampire King’ _ means nothing, anymore.” Alucard said sarcastically. 

“Nice to see you too, you Monstrous Heathen.” 

“Same to you, you Catholic Sociopath.”

“Glad to see you made it.” Hans said to Anderson. 

“You two planned this?” 

“Aye. We started talking about this two days ago during lunch. But we’re only making the deal if you’re in on it, too.” Anderson said. 

“Alright. What’s this deal?” Alucard asked. 

“As the wolfman already said, we all have people we want to protect here. You have Sir Integra and that draculina of yours. Hans has his Major, that werecat, and Herr Doctor. I have Yumie and Heinkel.”

“Get to the point.”

“We want a peace treaty. We protect the others’ people if anything happens to them and/or if they’re not around at the moment.”

“So if you vere to die, Anderson und I vould protect Integra und Seras for you. Und you vould do ze same for us. Or if I vas avay und Herr Major vas in danger, you two vould protect him for me. Or if Yumie or Heinkel vas in danger, ve vould help und protect zem for Anderson.” Hans explained. 

“I get the idea. And it isn’t a bad one.” Alucard said. “Those creatures at our door actually have me worried. It’s an enemy we don’t know how to kill, and our attempts to find the answer to that question so far have been futile.”

It was true. The image of teeth snapping shut over Integra’s beautiful form, and giant fingers wrapping around Seras, had come into his head in a bad dream a few nights ago, and Alucard had not been able to get the horrible images out of his head. 

“So, I have little choice other than to accept the idea.” 

Hans and Anderson looked genuinely surprised. 

“What? A little insurance never did anyone any harm.” Alucard said. 

“Wow. I’m surprised it was that easy.” Anderson said. 

“I  _ am  _ capable of being agreeable, you know. I just often choose not to.” Alucard said. 

“Should ve say somezing to make it official or somezing?” Hans asked. 

“Nay. Let’s just shake on it.” Anderson said. 

Alucard stood up. The other two walked towards him. 

In another life, they would be in a circle very similar to this one, on a battlefield, rather than Alucard’s dungeon, with looks of hate rather than looks of respect. Getting ready to kill each other just before Alucard released his final restriction. But in this life, they stood as allies, making an agreement peacefully for the benefit of each other and those they cared about. 

Looking each other right in the eye, Alucard and Hans shook first, then Hans and Anderson shook hands. Then, finally and a little bit reluctantly, Alucard and Anderson grasped each other’s hands and sealed the deal with one firm shake. 

Little did any of them know just how soon the circumstances of this deal would come to pass.


	5. VI: ...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some bonding time between the three leaders, some Alutegra, and some stuff from Herr Doktor's point of view. Then finally... A CLIFFIE!

The next day, all members of Millennium, the Vatican, and Millennium were gathered at the front of the Manor. Sir Integra, the Major, and Anderson stood at the top steps, getting ready to brief the group about the plan for their first expedition outside the barrier.

It had been a rough week for the three of them. The only time they had been out of each other’s company was the half-day half-night time they spent to sleep, bathe, and change clothes, sometimes during meals (the Major was absolutely _not_ going to skip so much as one meal, no matter how hard Integra or Anderson tried to get him to do otherwise), when one of them had to use the bathroom, or when they got into yet another argument or were just so utterly _sick_ of each other’s company that thad to take a few minutes to collect themselves.

Working with your sworn enemies and having to call them _allies_ was just as hard as it sounded.

Yep. When Integra and Anderson were trying to strangle each other, it fell on the Major to step between them and diffuse the situation (which he was pretty good at, considering how many hot-headed Nazis he had to deal with all the time). It fell on Anderson to hold Integra back whenever she felt like aiming her revolver at the Major, and it fell on Integra to diffuse Anderson whenever he wanted to turn the little white-clad Nazi into a human pincushion with his bayonets. Whether he started it or not, the Major _did not_ get angry. It was amazing. He could make other people angry _easily_ , but he did not get angry. And when he did, he didn’t raise his voice, it was with a calm, calculated smile that made Integra just _know_ that he was secretly plotting their deaths. But, if he really was, he never acted on the impulse. Integra had come to believe that because of his small size and lack of strength, he may have had to get used to _not_ raising his voice or punching people in the face when he was young simply because he couldn’t win any physical fight he started.

Integra had heard from Doc while she was going to get blood drawn for Alucard the day before that when the Major got angry at a member of Millennium, you’d better hope you’re indispensable, because he’ll start shooting at you, immediately. However, because his aim was so poor, he always ended up missing every single one and ordering someone to eat the poor unfortunate soul.

And yes, when she’d mentioned getting blood drawn, she said _for Alucard_ . Because of the seals _and_ the vampire king’s pride, he wasn’t allowing any other vampire to drink Integra's blood other than himself. She felt it best to just let the vampire have his way. It saved time and people.

Integra and the Major briefed the group on the plan for tomorrow’s expedition, and Anderson hung back some, piping in every now and then. He wasn’t as good at this as Integra and the Major, and he knew it. He was perfectly fine with letting the other two take the wheel for the announcement, and they weren’t complaining, either.

The only people _required_ to go on the expedition were vampires. The humans were allowed to volunteer if they wanted to, but it was not required. This was because it was important that there were always more humans than vampires because the vampires needed to feed on the humans’ blood.

The only person going from Hellsing was Alucard. Because she _still_ wouldn’t drink blood, Seras couldn’t regenerate like Alucard could. Integra wasn’t going to risk losing her. I.E: Seras wasn’t going beyond the barrier until A: She started drinking blood and could regenerate as well as Alucard, B: The Monsters disappeared (fat chance), or C: They figured out how to kill the monsters. As for the Wild Geese, _“We’re Mercenaries, not volunteers”_ Were Pip’s exact words. They weren’t setting foot over that barrier unless Integra _ordered_ them to. And really, she couldn’t blame them.

Father Anderson was leading the expedition. He was the most logical choice because he was one of the three trump cards _and_ one of the leaders. Plus, his regenerative abilities, increased speed, and increased strength made death by monster unlikely. On top of that, he _cared_ about people more than Alucard did, which was why he was leading the expedition instead of Alucard. Integra could only imagine how incredibly _low_ the number of survivors would be if _Alucard_ led the troops into battle, if the Ottoman Wars were anything to base it on.

From The Last Battalion, the Major was contributing sixteen of the thirty-two artificial vampires who were in fighting condition. Schrodinger was also going, and the Major wasn’t going to force her, but he was going to talk to Zorin about going as well. He wasn’t going to send all of his best cards out at the same time, so Hans was staying.

The plan was that the expedition would leave the next night, as soon as the sun went down. That was when Zorin said the monsters became inactive. Alucard would use his shadows to completely destroy any active monsters on the other side of the barrier. Then, everyone else would cautiously make their way across the barrier and use thick, long ropes and chains to capture between one and three smaller creatures while they were inactive, bring them to the other side of the barrier (temporarily opened by Sir Integra), and chain them to the ground so tightly they could barely move so that they could be studied by Herr Doktor. With hope, he would be able to figure out a way to kill them easier than turning their entire bodies into mincemeat.

The three leaders were very aware of the risk of bringing one of _them_ into the barrier, but it was a calculated risk that they were willing to take if it meant they could finally learn their enemy’s weakness.

With hope, it would take only one night, and everyone would be back unharmed before the sun came up.

 

* * *

 

As the sun set over the horizon, Alexander Anderson sat on the front steps of the Hellsing estate. Everyone had left at the end of the announcement. Those going on the expedition were going around to see their friends before they left, just in case they didn’t come back. Those not going were either working, healing (in the case of those injured), or seeking out their friends who _were_ going to say goodbye… just in case.

He, Integra, and Major had spent _days_ working on the plan, but with limited knowledge and who-knows-how-many variables, there was no possible way of saying whether or not everyone was going to make it back alive. Times like this made him want a cigarette or a drink. But, he’d given that up years ago and wasn’t about to go back to his old ways, now. It was also times like this that made him wonder: what was God’s plan in all of this?

Everything was always according to God’s plan. Anderson knew that much to be true. But during a _‘crusade’_ to rid the world of Nazi Vampires and Protestants, monsters had appeared to attack all sides (resulting in Maxwell’s death), and had forced Catholics, Protestants, and Nazis to work together. Why? God had put Anderson in charge of the Catholic portion of the Survivors, but why? Leadership was always more Maxwell’s thing. Maxwell _had_ needed to go. He’d forsaken God for power and it had gotten him eaten. But why had he done it?

Was God not happy with the deaths of all of the innocent people of London at the Vatican’s hands?

Was it Maxwell’s betrayal?

What could it be?

“Father Anderson.”

Anderson turned to see Sir Integra standing not too far away from him. He’d been so deep in thought, he hadn’t noticed her footsteps.

“Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Nothing, really. I came out here for some fresh air, and ran into you.”

“Well, ye don’t seem to be hurting anything, so feel free.”

_Why was that your first instinct? A week ago, you would have been trying to kill her, or telling her to piss off for being a Protestant. Now, that doesn’t even come to mind. How strange._

Integra lit a cigar and the two of them coexisted in uncomfortable silence for a few moments before Integra finally broke it.

“So, how are your feelings about tomorrow’s expedition?”

“I dinnae.” Anderson replied. “There’s too much we _don’t_ know. And that makes me nervous.”

“Same here. Do you know how Major feels about it?”

“Hard to say. He’s good at hiding his emotions, masking them, or burying them altogether. I’m not sure, which. But he seems confident in it.”

“His brain is his only strength. He has no choice other than to be confident in it.” Integra said.

“That’s not completely his fault. Bad genetics are part of it, I imagine.” Anderson added.

Neither of them said _‘His diet doesn’t help,’_ but both of them were thinking it.

There was more silence. Alexander had been thinking about saying something for a few days, now. And he feared this may be the only chance he got to actually say it.

“Sir Integra?”

“Hmm?” Integra asked, raising an eyebrow.  

“I… erm…” _Just spit it out, man!_ “I wanted to apologize.”

“For what?”

“All of it. All the times I called you a _‘Protestant Whore’_ or anything of the like, all the times I fought Alucard, and I apologize for the Vatican’s actions at the Battle of London. I never would have said it a few days ago, but now that I’m actually forced to interact with you people under friendlier circumstances, I’m beginning to realize that you’re not quite as bad as I  thought. No one at Hellsing is. Not even Alucard is as bad as I thought he’d be.”

Integra paused. The surprise was evident on her features, and he could see the wheels in her head turning.

“Well I apologize too, then. For in Ireland, when I called you a _‘Thing’_ . And every time myself or anyone at Hellsing called you a _‘Papist’_ or something similar.”

Anderson sighed. “There’s another thing to apologize for. I’m sorry for the incident in Ireland. Hellsing got there, first. Even if it was Catholic land. The vampire and ghouls would have been taken care of, and all would have been right in the world if I’d just stayed in Italy. And those two agents you had with you would still be alive.”

“It’s hard to forgive killing, but those men would have died, anyway in the Valentine Massacre a few days later, so… apology accepted.”

“There’s a lot of bad blood to apologize for. So, I’ll just say that I’m sorry for everything myself and the Vatican ever did to you or your organization before now.” Anderson said.

“Alright, I’m sorry for everything Hellsing and I did up until now, too.” Integra said.

There were a few moments of silence.

“I feel like Major should be here.” Integra finally said.

“Aye. He _does_ have a lot to apologize for. Maybe he’ll eventually realize that and apologize just like we just did.”

“Perhaps. But in his defense, he’s a _Nazi_ . Wouldn’t you kind of… _expect_ these kinds of things from him?”

“That’s very true. Speaking of which, do you know where the he is, right now?”

Just then, the two of them snapped alert as they heard three gunshots go off nearby. Then another, and another…

“Oh for God’s sake, what’s happening, now?” Integra asked.

Anderson stood up and quickly ran to the source of the sound. Integra came up behind him a few moments later.

“Well, speak of the devil and he shall appear.” Anderson said.

It was the Major. He was by himself shooting at a couple of cans he had set up on a fence at rather close range. It appeared that he was trying and failing horribly at trying to improve his aim. Doc was right. He really was terrible. He emptied the entire gun without so much as getting close to hitting one.

“Wow. He really _is_ pathetic.” Integra commented.

The Major had not noticed they were there, yet. He sighed to himself in what appeared to be disappointment, before pulling another cartridge out of his coat pocket, reloading the gun, and beginning to shoot again, just as poorly as before.

“Aye. That’s sad.” Anderson agreed.

“Shall we put him out of his misery?” Integra suggested.

“You mean help him?”

“No. Go slit his throat.” Integra said sarcastically. “ _Of course_ I meant help him!”

“Aye. We really should. That’s just a waste of bullets.”

“And it also sets the example for our men if the three of us are seen together getting along.” Integra sighed.

“That, too.” Anderson agreed.

The two of them waited until the Major paused his _‘practicing’_ , when he ran out of bullets again, then Sir Integra said loudly, “You know, Hellsing has a perfectly adequate indoor shooting range you could have used for that.”

The Major nearly jumped out of his skin. He whirled around and looked like he was trying to look innocent, even though he knew he’d been caught.

“Fraulein Integra! Fazer Anderson! You startled me!” He chuckled.

“What the hell are you doing?” Anderson asked.

“Practicing.”

“It’s only _‘practice’_ if you improve. _That_ was a sad waste of time and ammo.” Integra said.

The Major sighed. “Ja. I know. I am terrible. I’ve never even had _average_ aim. I’m pazetic. Plain und simple.”

“Well, not with that attitude.” Anderson said.

“Would you like some help?” Integra asked.

The Major chuckled. “People have been trying to help me vith this for years. Nozing vorks.”

“But you’re still trying.”

“Better zan giving up.” He shrugged.

“Do you want our help or not?” Integra asked.

The Major looked up, as though thinking, then said, “Ja…”

Integra walked over to the Major, immediately. Anderson hung back. “You’d best take all the advice from her, Major. I’m best with me bayonetts. It’s been years since I’ve used a gun.” He said.

“May I use your gun, or would you rather I pull out mine?”

“Nein. Use mine. Hans ist hiding around here, somevere. I ask for privacy sometimes, but I know I’m never really alone. Und if he interprets your intentions wrong ven you pull out your gun, he’s likely to blow your brains out first und ask questions, later.”

“Okay. Your gun it is.” Integra said, looking around.

Genuinely curious as to whether or not Integra could help him, he knew she was a good shot, Major handed Integra his pistol.

Integra took aim and fired at the can in the middle. She missed the first time. It was an experimental shot, as she was getting a feel for the gun. Integra adjusted her aim and fired again, and hit the can right in the center, striking with a metallic _‘pink’_ and flying off of the fence, landing in the grass.

“Every firearm is slightly different and fires slightly differently. Some will fire slightly to the left, some slightly to the right. Some up, some down. You get the idea. Yours appears to fire the bullet a little higher than you aim it. But I don’t think that’s why you’re so bad at this.”

“Ja. I zink I’ve heard zat before.” The Major said, nodding.

“Right. Now, I assume you know the different parts of the gun, right?”

“Ja. I know ze mechanics und ze theory behind using a firearm. But my aim ist just terrible.”

Integra worked with the Major for almost an hour. Anderson mostly watched, but he gave little bits of input every now and then. But every single time the Major tried to shoot, nothing changed. He still did not even get close to hitting a single target.

_Odd_ . Anderson thought. _We’ve tried every trick in the book. But he hasn’t even grazed one, yet._

Anderson sighed and removed his glasses to clean them off on his shirt. Really, this was starting to get frustrating. Even Integra, who was a very patient person, was beginning to get a little bit annoyed. Anderson had just finished cleaning one lens and was starting on the second lens, when a thought suddenly struck him. _His glasses…_

“Oi. Sir Integra?” Anderson called from his spot a few meters away. The Hellsing leader looked up at him. “Would ye mind coming here, a moment?”

Integra patted the Major on the shoulder and walked over to Anderson.

“I’m not sure whether or not this sounds stupid, but I just had a thought.” Anderson said, putting his own glasses back on.

“Does it relate to a certain someone’s skill with a firearm?”

“Aye.”

“Anderson, I’m willing to try _anything_ at this point. What is it?” She asked.

Anderson took his glasses back off. “I was just cleaning my glasses and well… I thought, ye don’t think there could be something wrong with that Major’s glasses, do ye?”

Integra’s eyes widened. “Oh… my… _God_.” She said.

“Never mind, then. I knew it was stupid.”

“No! It’s just… that makes total sense! It’s so obvious, I can’t believe I didn’t think of it. I’m surprised _he_ hasn’t thought of it, frankly.”

“I could be wrong, keep in mind. He might laugh at us both for suggesting it.”

He didn’t laugh, though.

Anderson cautiously approached the Major and asked, “Don’t take this the wrong way, bu’ do ye think tha’ there might be somethin’ wrong with yer glasses?”

The look on the Major’s face plainly said that the thought had never once crossed his mind. He opened and closed his mouth before finally saying, “You know, now zat you mention it, I haven't gotten a new pair of glasses since my cyborg surgery. Und even zen, I just got a replica of my old pair. Ze only reason I ever got a new pair vas because ze old vones vere broken.”

“Well, when _was_ the last time you actually had your eyes checked or got your lenses prescribed?” Integra asked.

“Before I joined ze SS.”

“Well no offense, but that’s just stupid.” She said. “I wa born with the misfortune of needing glasses, and I get my eyes checked at least once a year to see if my vision has changed any. When that happens, I need a new pair. Did Doc really never think of that? He’s the one who takes care of everyone’s health at Millennium, isn’t he?”

“Vell yes. But in his defense, he ist ze only medic Millennium hast had for years. No vone ve ever tried to get could keep up vith him. Zat, or zey suffered ze brunt of ze men’s boredom. He ist alvays very busy, so I can imagine that he vould miss _somezing_.”

“Well hold on, we don’t even know if that’s it, at all.” Anderson said. “It was just a thought.”

“Ja. True.”

“We should still test it, though.”

“And how do ye expect we do that?” Anderson asked Integra.

“I’ve got an idea.” She said. She turned to the Major. “Major, I want you to take aim. Just aim, don’t fire. Aim it where you _think_ it will hit. And remember what I said: your gun’s bullet goes a little bit high.”

“Ja. Zank you.” The Major said. He pointed his gun at the cans, supporting his extended arm with his other hand for good measure, adjusted it a little bit, and then stopped.

“That’s where you would fire it from?” Integra asked, just to clarify. There was a little bit of incredulity in her voice.

“Ja.”

“Would you mind moving your head to the side? I want to see how close you were.” She said.

Major leaned his head to one side, and Integra looked over his shoulder, right down the barrel of the gun.

“And just to be clear, what does it look like to you?” Integra asked.

“It looks like ze sight ist centered just over ze can.” The Major replied. “Vhy? Vat do you see, Integra?”

“I see that from here, the can is at least three or four inches away from the sight. Fire that, and it’s a good six feet or so away from the target once the bullet gets there.”

“So vat does zat mean?” Major asked.

“Well, you can read and write just fine. Things don’t look blurry to you when you’re wearing those. So if I were to guess, I think it means that with those glasses, you can see clearly, but whatever you’re looking at is a few inches to the left of where it really is..”

“How hast no vone noticed zis before now?” The Major asked.

“Can I make a guess?” Anderson asked. All eyes turned to him. “When you’re standing here lookin’ at me, you look right at me. When ye put pen to paper, ye put it exactly where ye need it to go. And when yer walkin, ye don’t bump into things. So maybe wherever the flaw on the lenses is, it only affects your long-range vision?” Anderson suggested.

“So… does zat mean my aim… might _not_ be terrible?” The Major asked. There was something in his voice, something in his gold eyes that neither Anderson nor Integra had ever heard nor seen in him before. _Hope._

“Perhaps. But the only way we can be sure is if we get you a new pair of glasses. A pair that _works._ ” Integra said.

Everyone went silent. _When we get out of this._

It was an unsaid question that was on everyone’s minds. They were working together, now. In fact, they were actually _getting along_. But once they weren’t stuck, anymore… Once the monsters were gone… Then what?

The English People would no doubt want the Major and all of the other members of Millennium executed or at the very least in prison for life for what they had done to London before the monsters had shown up. The Americans would be pissed too because of the Millennium vampire that had killed so many in the White House.

The Catholics would be in trouble too for their little ‘crusade’. While it was true that it was all Maxwell’s fault because he had lied about the Pope’s actual orders, people would still be angry at those who had followed those fake orders in London. From what the Pope had said over the phone during that call on the Zeppelin the night it had all began, the Catholic religion as a whole was already under fire. Every other religion and Government was making the Pope and Clergy look like dastardly villains even though the true blame for whole thing fell on one man. One _dead_ man, no less. And even people all over the world who _were_ Catholic were switching to Protestant religions left and right for the sole reason that they were so disgusted with their leaders that they didn’t want to be catholic anymore, but still loved God and wanted to worship him.

Hellsing would likely not receive much negative feedback from the rest of the world because of their role as sort of the anti-hero in all of this. In fact, they may very well be treated as heroes. But that didn’t change what was sure to happen to the other two organizations.

“Ja.” The Major said with a smile that was almost sad, “Maybe.”

None of them saw the multiple sets of angry and disgusted red eyes watching them from one of the windows of the manor.

* * *

 

A few hours later, Sir Integra was headed to bed. The three leaders had adopted a sleep schedule so that all three of them got at most nine hours of sleep. They all retired to go to bed at about 3:00 in the morning and got up at noon so that they were awake for some time during the day, and most of the time they were awake was at night. Integra was already dressed in her pajamas, but she was having trouble picking out what suit she wanted to wear, tomorrow.

She wasn’t usually too vain about her appearance, but she felt that considering it was going to be their first attempt at going _outside_ , she felt that she should wear _something_ nicer than usual.

“Having trouble sleeping, Sir Integra?” She heard Alucard’s voice ask behind her.

“No. I’m just getting something out for tomorrow.”

“Thought you’d wear something nice?”

“I’m not going to have a conversation with you about fashion sense. And _no_ . I am _not_ wearing a dress.” Integra said.

Alucard chuckled. “Even if you did ask for my advice, my Master, I don’t think it would do you much good.”

Integra turned to face him. “Why’s that?”

She hadn’t realized how _close_ to her he was. He was knelt down to her eye level to look at her face-to-face. He wasn’t wearing his hat or his glasses, and Integra was forced to stare into his enchanting crimson orbs. He gently brushed her hair out of her face, admiring how beautiful she was, and gently held both sides of her face with his gloved hands.

“Because, Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, you are always beautiful in my eyes.” He murmured. Then, he closed the gap and kissed her.

Integra felt all the blood in her body rush up to her cheeks, immediately. She thought that she should be shoving him away. She thought that she should be demanding an explanation. But that’s not what she did. It took a second for her to snap out of it, then she was kissing him back.

She didn’t know what to make of this sudden boldness from her servant, but she wasn’t exactly against it. Before she knew it, the kiss was open-mouthed, and his tongue was gently brushing against hers. She wasn’t going to let him win, and their tongues began to duel inside their mouths. Alucard had used one hand to pull her body against his, and he was holding her close.

They finally stopped kissing so that Integra could breathe, and Alucard held her close to him, planting a kiss on her forehead and then just resting his head on top of hers. Cherishing the distinct sound of her heart beating, her breath, the warmth emitting from her body. She was _alive_ . Safe in his arms, she was _alive_ , and he’d give his un-life to keep it that way.

“Why?” Integra panted. He knew what she was asking. There had been a would-they-wouldn’t-they thing between them since Integra was a teenager. So why now? Why had Alucard chosen _now_ to finally kiss her?

“I have to leave you tomorrow, Sir Integra.” He said, running his fingers through her soft blonde hair. “I have to go into battle tomorrow, and I have to leave you here. It’s been a long time since something has scared me, and that scares me.”

“Alucard, the Captain will protect me if someone tries something. And if not him, then I have Seras and the Wild Geese. The Major is a man of his word, despite his many flaws. He won’t let anything happen to me while you and Father Anderson are away.”

“I know, my Master. I know. But I wanted to kiss you, just once, before I had to go… just in case.”

That was when Integra realized that Alucard really was scared. He was scared for her. He was scared that this whole mess was going to result in the death of the few people in the world he cared about, and who cared about him. He wouldn’t be killed by those creatures. Sir Integra knew that. But if everyone else died, then he’d be all alone, again. And if that happened… then that life would have no purpose.

“Alucard,” she said, “I promise I won’t die. But you had better come back to me. Do you understand? You _will_ come back to me. Don’t you _dare_ leave me.”

Alucard smiled. “Of course, my Master.”

“I… suppose I’d best be off to bed, then. I’ll pick something out in the morning.” She said, closing her closet doors.

“I’ll leave you to retire then.” Alucard said with a bow. Then, he turned to leave, but Sir Integra gently grabbed his sleeve to stop him. The vampire king turned back around.

“Please stay with me.” Sir Integra asked. “Just for tonight. You can go back to your coffin when the sun comes up. But for now, please stay. I don’t want to be alone, tonight.”

Alucard smiled and turned back around. “Of course, my Master.”

Integra climbed into bed and Alucard removed his red coat, cravat, suit jacket, and boots before joining her. Alucard threw the covers over the two of them, spooning her body with his own, and putting one arm around her. It was kind of weird. They had never done anything like this, before. Integra had never done this with _anyone_. But Integra couldn’t say she didn’t like the action.

“Good night, my Master.”

* * *

 

The great hall at Hellsing had been set up as a sort of cafeteria. There were two long tables in the front of the room. One was covered in MREs for the humans, and the other was covered in buckets filled with blood bags and ice. The ice was to keep the blood bags fresh, and the blood bags were sorted by blood type. The rest of the room had circular tables scattered across it for people to sit and eat. Though the limited number of chairs forced some people to sit _on_ the tables or on the floor.

Doctor Avondale Napyeer awoke on the _Deus Ex Machina_ the next day at precisely noon (he and the other humans/cyborgs were following the same half-day half-night sleep schedule as Integra, Anderson, and Major). He had fallen asleep at his desk last night while trying to map out and make connections between what they knew about the monsters who were wandering around just beyond the barrier. He hadn’t found anything.

Avondale stretched. _Damn_ , his back was sore. He really needed to try actually going to bed, more often. He knew he wouldn’t do it, but he knew he probably should. He left his lab and went back to his room. He changed clothes, then combed his hair and brushed his teeth, before cleaning his face, putting on his gloves, and leaving the ship. He had been trying to keep up with his appearance more lately, with having to interact with the other organizations. He didn’t really care about what people in Millennium thought of him, but he was a little self-conscious about how clean he was or how underweight he was when he was around members of Hellsing or the Catholics. He’d fallen asleep at his desk, so he hadn’t showered, but he still felt clean enough to be presentable. That, and he didn’t feel like trekking over to Hellsing manor to the men’s showers and bathing. It was too much of a hassle, and he wanted to be ready in case Herr Major needed him to do something.

All of the humans had adopted the same half-day half-night sleep schedule as Integra, Anderson, and the Major, so the room was full of Papal Knights, Iscariot members, Wild Geese, and of course, Integra, Anderson, and Herr Major, were all up, too. Schrodinger and Hans were there, as well.

Avondale cringed when he saw that Herr Major had beaten him, there. Doc much prefered to be up _before_ his superior so that he didn’t look lazy. Doc quickly went over and quickly grabbed an MRE. It looked like they were all having ready-to-eat omelettes for breakfast. _Yummy._

Doc started looking around for a place to sit.

Integra was eating by herself, though Avondale noted that the Wild Geese had dutily and discreetly sat in the tables around Integra, so that they were giving her her space, but also keeping an eye on her.

Anderson was eating with Yumie and Heinkel near the middle of the room. Due to his large size and high metabolism, he was eating _four_ MREs, while everyone else in the room was eating only one. It wasn’t selfish in any way. It was just that Anderson needed more calories than everyone else.

The Major was seated on the side of the room opposite to Integra. He had his food already, but he wasn’t eating. He was talking to Schrodinger, and Hans, who were both standing, and they were all looking at him and at each other nervously, like they weren’t sure about something. Interested as to what was going on, Doc walked closer and watched. But Major noticed him and waved him over.

_Oh, no. What have I walked into?_

Doc gulped nervously and walked over.

“Guten Nachmittag, Herr Doktor.” ( _“Good afternoon, Herr Doktor.”_ ) The Major greeted in German with a smile.

“Guten Nachmittag, Herr Major. Es tut mir so leid, dass ich zu spät bin.” ( _“Good Afternoon, Herr Major. I am so sorry I am late.”_ )

“Mach dir keine Sorgen, Doc. Ich ließ dich verschlafen, weil ich weiß, wie spät du letzte Nacht auf warst.” ( _“No need to worry, Doc. I let you oversleep because I know how late you stayed up last night.”_ ) Major replied.

“Danke mein Herr. Das war nett von dir.” (“ _Thank you, sir. That was kind of you._ ”)

“Du weißt, wie unentbehrlich du bist, oder? Sie können nicht ersetzt werden. Besonders jetzt brauche ich dich, Doktor. Ich möchte, dass du beginnst, zu einer vernünftigeren Stunde ins Bett zu gehen.” (“ _You know how indispensable you are, don't you? You can't be replaced. Especially now, I need you at your best, Doktor. I want you to start trying to get to bed at a more reasonable hour.”_ )

“In Ordnung, Herr Major. Ich werde es versuchen.” ( _“Alright, Herr Major. I'll try.”_ )

Then, Major said something completely unexpected.

“Sitzen.” (“ _Sit_.”)

Doc deadpanned. “Entschuldigung, Herr Major. Ich glaube nicht, dass ich dich richtig verstanden habe. Hast du mich gebeten zu sitzen?” ( _“Sorry, Herr Major. I don't think I heard you correctly. Did you ask me to sit?”_ )

“Großartig. Gleichfalls? Warum haben alle so Angst, sich mit mir zu setzen? Ja. Ich möchte, dass du dich setzt, Doc.” ( _“Great. You too? Why is everyone so scared to sit down with me? Yes. I want you to sit, Doc.”_ )

“Soll ich mich setzen?” (“ _You want me to sit down?”_ )

“Ja. Ich habe das gerade gesagt.” ( _“Yes. I just said that.”_ )

“Mit dir?” ( _“With you?”_ )

“Ja.” ( _“Yes.”_ )

“Soll ich mich hinsetzen und mit dir essen?” ( _“You want me to sit down and eat with you?”_ ) Avondale asked one last time, just to clarify.

“Ja.” ( _“Yes.”_ ) The Major said, now sounding a little impatient and looking at Doc like he was stupid.

The reason that DOc was so weirded out by the simple request was that it was generally tradition, and Millennium had been doing it for years, that military leaders eat alone and get the best rations. The circumstances were already forcing Herr Major to eat the same food as everyone else, but it was very unusual that he was _asking_ people of rank lower than he to join him for a meal.

“Major, geht es dir gut?” ( _“Major, are you feeling okay?”_ ) Doc asked.

“Herr Doktor, mir geht es gut! Ich möchte nur, dass du dich hinsetzt und mit mir isst. Ist das falsch?” ( _“Herr Doctor, I am fine! I just want you to sit down and eat with me. Is that wrong?”_ )

Doc set his MRE down on the table, knelt down to his Major’s eye level, and went into full doctor mode.

“Wie heißen Sie?” ( _“What is your name?”_ )

Now it was Major’s turn to deadpan. “Ernsthaft, Dok?” ( _“Seriously, Doc?”_ )

“Wie heißen Sie?” ( _“What is your name?”_ )

Herr Major rolled his eyes and smiled as if to say, _‘This is annoying, but I’m kinda touched you care enough to do this.’_

Then, he replied in fluent german:

"Ich bin Major Montana Max des Millenniums-Bataillons, letztes Bataillon des deutschen Dritten Reichs. Ich wurde 1907 in Deutschland geboren und war vierunddreißig Jahre alt, als Sie eine Operation an mir durchführten, die mich in einen Cyborg verwandelte Dein Name ist Avondale Napyeer. Du bist ein Cyborg, wie ich, und du bist ein brillanter Wissenschaftler und Arzt, der für Millennium viele Vorzüge geschaffen hat. Das ist Hans Gunsche, Millenniums Capitan, er ist ein Werwolf. Und das ist Schrödinger. Er ist ein Werecat. Wir sind derzeit im Hauptquartier der Hellsing-Organisation in Großbritannien, einer Organisation, die sich dem Schutz des Vereinigten Königreichs vor okkulten Bedrohungen verschrieben hat. Nun, wie Sie sehen können Doc, Ich bin vollkommen gesund. Ich bin in Ordnung."

( _"I am Major Montana Max of the Millennium Battalion, last battalion of the German Nazi third Reich. I was born in Germany in 1907, and I was thirty-four years old when_ you _performed a surgery on me that turned me into a cyborg and halted my aging. Your name is Avondale Napyeer. You are a cyborg, like me, and you are a brilliant scientist and doctor who has made many assets for Millennium. That's Hans Gunsche, Millennium's Capitan, he is a werewolf. And that's Schrodinger, our messenger, spy, and a great asset to the organization. He is a werecat. We are currently at the headquarters of the Hellsing organization in Britain, an organization dedicated to protecting the United Kingdom from occult threats. Now as you can see Doc, I am perfectly of sound mind. I. Am. Fine."_ )

Doc held up his hands defensively. “Entschuldigung, ich habe mich nur darum gekümmert. Das scheint nicht wie du, ist alles.” ( _“Sorry, I was just making sure. This doesn't seem like you, is all.”_ )

“Es ist in Ordnung. Hans und Schrödinger waren auch widerwillig. Bitte hinsetzen. Alles von Dir. Ich werde niemanden beißen.” ( _“It's alright. Hans and Schrödinger were reluctant, too. Please sit down. All of you. I'm not going to bite anyone.”_ )

Cautiously, Doc picked up his MRE, pulled out a chair, and sat down in the seat next to his superior.

“Sehen? War das so schwer?” ( _“See? Was that so hard?”_ )

“Nein, ich nehme an, es war nicht so schwer.” ( _“No, I suppose it was not that hard.”_ )

Once Schrodinger saw that someone had sat down before him and hadn’t gotten in trouble for it, the werecat went over to the other side of the table and sat down in the chair next to Doc.

Hans still didn’t budge.

“Komm Herr Kapitän, setz dich zu uns.” ( _“Come on, Herr Captain. Sit with us.”_ ) Schrodinger said.

“Hans, sitzen.” Major said a little more sternly.

In response to that, Hans suddenly and abruptly turned into the giant white werewolf and sat down on the floor next to Herr Major, looking down at his commander with soft red eyes.

For a moment, Doc thought Herr Major would be angry. But, proving yet again how unpredictable he could be, the Nazi Commander chuckled.

“Vell, you didn’t technically disobey zat order, did you?” He asked rhetorically, slipping back into English.

The werewolf wined, his ears flat against his head.

“Alright. You can just stay like zat if you vant to.”

Hans’s tail thumped against the ground softly. A few heads had turned in the direction of the werewolf, but some had gotten so used to it that they just went back to eating. Others… looked a little on edge.

Hans’s MRE was hanging out of his mouth. Major reached up and grabbed it, and Hans let it go. Doc watched as Major, acting completely out of character, ripped the bag open and pulled the Omelette out.

“Hier, Hans.” ( _“Here, Hans.”_ ) He said in German.

The werewolf gently and timidly took the food from the Major’s fingers with his mouth and chewed only twice before he swallowed it all in one gulp.

“Guter Junge, Hans. Guter Junge.” ( _“Good boy, Hans. Good boy.”_ ) The Major said softly, scratching the gigantic wolf on the chin. Hans’s huge tail started thumping gently against the ground, and a happy moan/growl escaped the back of his throat. Hans bowed his head so that the Major could start scratching him on the jaw a little before starting to scratch and rub the big wolf on the ears. “Guter Junge.”

Doc sometimes forgot that beneath the cold, stony, silent exterior Hans usually showed off, the Captain was really just a gigantic dog deep down. He was loyal, didn’t talk much, and loved nothing more in the world than his Master.

Doc had been quite aware for some time that Hans’s chip was broken. But he hadn’t said or done anything about it simply because the werewolf continued to act just as loyal to Herr Major as if he _did_ have his chip, and he had never so much as growled at anyone in Millennium unless Major told him to, or unless it was to prevent a mutiny.

Perhaps the simple occasional scratch behind the ears was the reason why.

The Major went back to eating after a moment or so, and Hans just laid down in his wolf form next to him with his head under the table. Of course, the werewolf was so _big_ , his back _still_ came up to the Major’s shoulder, even while he was laying down.

Major caught Doc looking at him and said, “Vat are you doing, Doc? I told you to take better care of yourself. _Essen_.”

“Oh. _Jawohl_.” Doc said, starting to eat.

They had some small talk as they ate, Major asking about how the observations of the monsters were going (not well, unfortunately) and things like that. But Doc didn’t miss his Major occasionally sneaking his hand under the table or to the side to scratch Hans on the head, neck, or shoulder. Honestly, Avondale was usually alerted to it by the soft _thump, thump, thump_ of Hans’s tail against the floor each time the Major did it.

It was weird. It was true that members of different organizations were starting to get along, but even between members of the same organizations, things were just seeming to become so… _normal._

* * *

 

Ah, one of the reasons Hans stayed with Millennium. It hadn’t happened too often, lately because of Operation Sea Lion and everything else going on.

The Major was a dog person, whether he admitted it or not. He might _like_ cats, but Hans just knew that Major liked him more than Schrodinger! And when it came to giving an old dog a good scratching, Major Montana Max’s fingers were absolutely _magical_.

* * *

 

After breakfast, Major sent Hans and Schrodinger to go start rounding up the men that had been selected to go on the expedition. With some reluctance, Hans left to do so. Doc would never say it, but he thought it was kind of cute the way Hans trailed after Major constantly like a lost puppy.

Or like a dog that didn’t like sharing his Master, perhaps.

In either case, Doc and Major started making their way back to the _Deus Ex Machina_ because Major had something to talk to him, about.

Doc was just really hoping he wasn’t in trouble about something.

“Eh, Major,” Doc said as they left the building. “Am I… in trouble?”

The Major laughed. “Nein, I am not mad at you, but I vanted to ask you about something.”

“Ist it something classified, or vould you just like to ask me about it, now?”

“I suppose I can go ahead und ask. I did not zink ze cafeteria vas ze best place to talk about zis particular zing.”

“Alright, Herr Major. You know you can alvays trust me to answer your questions honestly.” Doc said as they started to descend the front steps.

“It ist honesly a funny story, Doc. I vas trying to improve my aim, yesterday und Integra und Fazer Anderson caught me in ze act.”

“Oh, no. Zat must have been embarrassing.” Doc said sympathetically. He knew how bad a shot Major was. To date, he had never actually hit a target on purpose.

“Ja. It vas at first. But zey did not laugh. Zet offered to help.”

“Und? Did you actually hit anything?”

The Major sighed. “Nein.” Then, his face brightened up a little. “But zey did make a suggestion zat I haft never zought of before. Und zey actually proved it, too.”

“Really? Vat?” Doc asked as they reached the bottom step.

“Zey said-” But the Major suddenly cut himself off with a hiss of pain and surprise, and his hand flew up to the back of his neck. “ _Autsch! Scheiße!_ ” He cursed under his breath.

“Huh? Vat is it?”

“I don’t know. It feels like somezing just bit-” Major stopped talking when he brought something out from behind his neck, where he had been feeling the source of the pain. Doc froze, too.

It was a tranquilizer dart.

Major stared at it for several long seconds before he looked over at Doc with unfocused, confused eyes. “Doktor… vat…?” He didn’t finish. That’s when The Major’s eyes glazed over and rolled back in his head and he collapsed like a sack of apples.

“ _Major_ !” Doc cried in alarm. He managed to catch Major on his way to the ground, but between the human tissue and the metal cyborg parts inside him, the shorter, fatter man was incredibly _heavy_. All Doc could really do was set him down slowly and make sure he didn’t hit his head or something.

Doc immediately knelt down next to his Major and checked his vitals. The spot at his neck wasn’t at a good angle, so Doc felt for a pulse at his wrist. His heart was still beating strong, but it was noticeably slower than usual from whatever drug Major had just been shot with.

Doc rolled Major over so that he was on his back and tried to rouse him. “Major! Major, are you alright?” Doc slapped the Major on the cheeks lightly, trying to wake him up. “Major? Major!” No response. Doc tried again. “Major? Max? Max, wake up! Aufwachen!” Still no response.

_Maybe he’ll wake up if I piss him off._ “Montana?!” Doc knew how much his Major _hated_ that name. Maybe if some part of his consciousness heard him, the Major would wake up out of anger? It would be better than… _this_ , that was for sure. But still, there was no response.

Out of the corner of his eye, Doc spotted the tranquilizer dart on the ground next to the Major’s hand. He picked it up and examined it.

_Wait a minute! This doesn’t make any sense! This tranquilizer dart is one of Millennium’s!_

Doc suddenly felt a sharp pain on his side. When he’d knelt down, it had exposed the skin on his belly that wasn’t covered up by his shirt. When he looked down, there was a tranquilizer dart identical to the one that had hit Major sticking out of his side.

_Oh verdammt._

Doc opened his mouth to scream, but a gloved hand slapped over it from behind. Doc was put in an armlock! He couldn’t move! He tried to fight. He tried to reach the remote in his coat controlling Millennium’s chips. But the lock that the mutineer had on him was too strong.

The drugs sank in.

Doc felt his strength fail him.

The last thing he felt was himself falling.

Before everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been awhile. I made this a long chapter to make up for it!


	6. VII: In Deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone inside the barrier realizes something isn't right while The Major and Doc realize how much danger they're in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I was writing this chapter, went back, and realized it was over 10,000 words long! Yikes! No wonder it took so long to write! So, I split it in half. Here's the first half! Enjoy!

Alucard, along with pretty much everyone within the barrier, was first alerted to the fact that there was something wrong by the  _ loud _ howling of a very panicked, very  _ angry  _ werewolf. 

Alucard was sound asleep in his coffin when it happened. He wasn’t terribly upset about being woken up. It was only fifteen minutes early. But bumping his head on the lid of his coffin wasn’t very pleasant. 

_ Oh, God. What now? _

Alucard exploded out of his coffin and jumped straight up. He materialized through two ceilings before he ran straight out one of the walls, following the sound of the commotion. 

A brief description of the scene when Alucard arrived:

It was all happening relatively close to the edge of the barrier on the southeastern side. The only ones there hence far were Anderson, Yumie, Heinkel, Schrodinger, and… Hans. 

Hans had gone completely nuts. He was sniffing around, jumping around, howling and barking and snarling, making all manner of awful noises. Knowing that crossing the barrier alone most likely meant certain death, Anderson, Yumie, and Heinkel had made a circle around the werewolf and were trying to keep him contained. Schrodinger was standing behind Anderson, talking calmly, trying to calm the Millennium Capitan down and asking what was wrong. 

“Anderson! What the hell is going on?” Alucard yelled. 

“We dinnae! He’s gan completely radge!” Anderson yelled back. 

At that moment, Hans screeched something loudly in german at the top of his lungs. 

“Hans! Who ist  _ ‘him’ _ ? Vat traitors? Ze only traitor I know of ist Valter! Und he’s dead!” Schrodinger yelled.

“What’d he say?” Alucard asked. 

Heinkel answered him. Her English was so good, Alucard had almost forgotten that her first language was german. “Word for word, he said, ‘ _ Damn traitors! God damn f**king good-for-nothing traitors! Where is he? What have you done with him? Where is he? How dare you betray him? I’ll f**king tear you apart! _ ’”

Alucard blinked at her. 

“What? You asked. That’s what he said.”

At that moment, Hans let loose yet another shriek of german. But Alucard heard the werewolf say Alucard’s name and Anderson’s. 

“Heinkel! Translate!” Anderson shouted. 

“Uh, he said, ‘ _ You promised! You promised you’d protect him for me! Alucard! Anderson! You’re both liars! You promised you wouldn’t let anything happen to him!’ _ ”

Alucard and Anderson immediately made eye contact. And Alucard knew immediately that Anderson was thinking the same thing he was.

Anderson turned to Schrodinger. “Where’s your Major?” 

“Herr Major? He vas headed back to ze Zeppelin vith Doc, last I saw him.” 

“They went alone? It was just the two of em?”

“Ja. Herr Major had something he vanted to talk to Doc about. He actually told me it vas somezing you und Sir Integra told him. You veren’t being cruel.  _ Vere you, Anderson? _ ” 

Anderson groaned and looked straight up. “Glasses.” 

“Vat?” 

“Nothin’. I’ll tell ye later, but it wasn’t anythin’ cruel. Schrodinger, I need ye to go find yer Major. And Doc.  _ Now. _ ”

“ _ Jawohl _ .” And Schrodinger disappeared. 

“Hold on. I’ll look, first.” Alucard opened his third eye and did a sweep of his entire territory in seconds, searching for any sign of the Major or Doc. All the while, he listened for a sound that was beginning to grow familiar. 

Alucard had known for the moment he’d finally met the Major and Doc in person that they were cyborgs. Why? It was the ticking that gave them away. A constant electronic whirr, accompanied by a faint ticking sound, that came from inside both of their bodies. It was the sound of the machine parts of their bodies working. The engine, the cogs, the whatever-else. All of it. 

But it was silent. Alucard used his third eye to search every square inch of the inside of the barrier, and the Major and Doc were both  _ gone _ . And looking at the route between the great hall and the Deus Ex Machina, there were two used tranquilizer darts lying on the ground near the bottom step of the back exit of the headquarters. Doing a quick head count, there were also fifteen less Millennium soldiers then there had been yesterday. 

_ Oh, shit. _

“Anderson, this is bad. The Major and that mad doctor are  _ gone _ .” Alucard said. 

“ _ What? _ ” 

“Yes. If I had to guess, I’d say mutiny. There are also fifteen members of Millennium missing, and there are two used Millennium tranquilizer darts lying on the ground near the bottom step of the back door on the route between the Cafeteria and the Zeppelin.”

“Oh,  _ Christ _ !”

Just then, Schrodinger reappeared. The werecat looked incredibly upset. On the verge of tears, actually. “I cannot find Herr Major und Herr Doktor, anyvhere!” He cried. 

“Yes. Alucard just established that.” Anderson deadpanned. 

“Now vat do ve do? Ve have to find him! If zey’re on ze ozer side of ze barrier, zey vill be dead in a minute!”

“Before we can do anything, we need to calm Hans down!” Yumie said. 

“Leave it to me.” Alucard said. And in an instant, the werewolf was surrounded by an impenetrable wall of Alucard’s shadows. Hans howled with rage from inside.

“Heinkel. Go get Integra and tell her what’s happened. Then, don’t let er’ out of yer sight. There might be more mutineers within Millennium tha’ we dinnae about an’ we dinnae ef Millennium’s leaders were their only target.” Anderson ordered.

“Yes, I’ll go straight away, Anderson!”

“What do we do about Hans?” Yumie asked. 

“The best thing to do right now is to contain him until we’re sure about our next course of action, then let him go.” Alucard said. “He’ll make a beeline across the barrier and start looking for his Major. I  _ pity  _ the fifteen soldiers who are most likely with them. Anderson, I need you to go get Zorin for me. Immediately.”

“ _ Nein _ ! I’m faster! I’ll do it!” Schrodinger said, appearing out of nowhere.

“How the bloody hell do ye keep doin’ tha’?” Anderson asked. 

“Everyvhere und novhere.” Schrodinger’s voice said. It seemed to come from the air, itself. There was no source.

“Tha’ still makes no bloody sense.” Anderson said, shaking his head. 

“We’re in an alliance between a vampire hunting organization, the Vatican, and a battalion of Nazi vampires. I don’t think any of this is going to make sense.”

Anderson and Yumie nodded in agreement. 

The next second, Alucard spotted a purple blur bolting across the lawn, and Zorin was standing before them a moment later. 

“Schrodinger said I vas summoned und it vas important. Vat’s vith Hans?” Zorin asked. 

“Two things, first.” Alucard said, walking towards the artificial vampiress. 

“Vat’s zat?” 

“Firstly, this is going to hurt.”

“Vait…  _ vat _ ?”

“Secondly, if you’re innocent, I apologize in advance and I will make this up to you.”

“Again,  _ VAT?  _ Oi, vat are you doing? Get zat look off your face! Get avay from me!” Zorin lifted her scythe to defend herself and swung, taking off Alucard’s right arm. She swung again, but Alucard caught the scythe in his left hand and kicked her right in the middle of the chest with his right boot. Both disarming her and knocking her to the ground in one swift move. Zorin scrambled up to move, but Alucard grabbed her by the throat with his regenerating right arm. He’d already thrown the scythe aside. 

Yumie made a move to stop him, but Anderson had already figured out what Alucard was up to, and he raised a hand to stop her. 

Alucard lifted Zorin off the ground by the throat while she fought like a wildcat. Clawing at his arm, cursing every foul thing under the sun, and kicking wildly. One of her hands grabbed Alucard by the face. 

“Ha!” She shouted, thinking she had him. But unfortunately for Zorin, her ability was utterly useless against Alucard. She screamed and immediately let go of him as soon as she got a glimpse inside Alucard’s mind- more accurately, into the tormented minds of the three million souls trapped inside him. The ones that made him  _ invincible _ . 

In shock from the experience, without a weapon, and her greatest power rendered useless, Zorin was completely powerless as the No-Life King sank his fangs into the side of her neck. 

Blood spattered, and Anderson and Yumie looked away from the disturbing scene. Feeling like they should do something, but knowing that it was best that they not. Anderson, because he understood the reason. Yumie, because she trusted Anderson. 

Alucard took three big gulps, looking through the recent memories stored within the blood. There was desire for bloodshed, yes. Disappointment that the plan had not gone as it should. Hatred at the monsters that had devoured all of Zorin’s subordinates and that now caged her with her former enemies.

But… there was no resentment. Zorin hated the situation, but she didn’t blame her superiors for it. There was only loyalty and a great deal of respect for her Major. No hatred, whatsoever. Not a single thought or emotion to indicate that Zorin would want the obese little Nazi warmonger dead. The word ‘mutiny’ wasn’t anywhere on her mind.  She was innocent. 

Alucard withdrew his teeth and was careful to set Zorin down gently. Her legs gave out under her, and she fell upon the ground, cussing and clutching her bleeding neck. 

“Ze… hell?” She coughed. “Vat… vhy ze hell did you…?” 

“I had to make sure you were trustworthy.” Alucard said curtly. “Your Major and Doc are missing. We have reasons to believe there’s been a mutiny inside Millennium and a number of those responsible have taken them across the border.”

The look on her face proved the loyalty Alucard had seen inside her mind. Shock, horror, worry, and anger. 

“Herr Major und Doc?  _ Shit _ . I’ve been outside zese valls. I’ve seen vat zose zings do to people up close. Zose two von’t last five minutes out zere! Ve have to find zem und bring zem back!”

“Aye. That we do.” Anderson said. “I suggest we release Hans to find em’. In the meantime, we need ter protect Sir Integra, in the case tha’ Millennium’s leaders ain’t the only target. We’ve already sent Heinkel ter do tha’. We also need ter determine exactly who the traitors are. Right now, everyone in Millennium cept’ fer the two en question who’re missing, Hans, Schrodinger, and yerself are all prime suspects.”

“That’s why I drank your blood.” Alucard said. “I had to look inside your mind and determine if you were trustworthy, or a traitor, yourself.”

“Let me guess. You need me to do a mass mind-reading?” Zorin guessed.

“Correct. As much as I hate to admit it, that’s one thing you do better than me. I can’t read the minds of large crowds.  _ You  _ can.” Alucard said. 

“Ja, ja. I get vhy you did it. But you still owe me  _ big _ .”

“I’ll make it up to you. But not now. I’m going with Hans. Two have a better chance at survival and rescue than one. Anderson, remember our agreement. If anything happens to Sir Integra or Seras, I swear to God-”

“I won’t let anythin’ happen ter them.” Anderson promised. 

“Good. Now I’m off to find that Fatass and that Doctor of yours and bring them back. They’re of no use to us dead.” Alucard said. 

And with that, Alucard released the barrier around Hans. With a furious roar, the gigantic white werewolf bounded across the lawn and across the barrier. Alucard transformed into Baskerville and was quick to follow. Dawn was soon approaching, and it wouldn’t be long before the monsters at their door were active, once again. 

_ Major… don’t you dare die on me.  _ Alucard thought.  _ There’s too much I still need to talk to you about. Too many questions unanswered. Too many conversations unhad. And besides… I still owe you a great debt. After all. If it weren’t for you…  _

The image of Sir Integra came into his head. Trapped in giant fingers, screaming in fear and anger, thrashing as she was lifted up into gigantic jaws. Alucard shook the nightmarish thought out of his mind and looked ahead. He was barely a tail-length behind Hans, and he could tell by the werewolf’s sure, confident strides, that he was already on the trail. 

_ If it weren’t for you, Major… I wouldn’t have a Master, anymore. _

* * *

 

Major Montana Max was roused from the darkness by a gentle rumbling next to his ear. Then, by the not-so gentle bounce of his body being jostled around in a small, dark, enclosed space. 

_ What the f…  _

A particularly hard bounce made him hit his head on the hard, carpeted surface beneath him. And that fully snapped him out of the daze. The first thing he noticed was how  _ dark  _ it was. There was a tiny sliver of light coming from right in front of him. But other than that, it was pitch-black. In this dark space, he was laying on his side, and he could just barely feel his shoulder brushing against something, the ceiling, the lid, the  _ top  _ of whatever it was he was in. 

The second thing he noticed was that he was restrained. There was what felt like a pair of zip-ties around his wrists. 

Max felt his heart begin to pick up the pace, a hint of panic entering his conciousness. Max closed his eyes and started taking deep, slow breaths, trying to calm himself.

_ The soldier who panics gets shot. _ He told himself.  _ My mind is my only weapon. I have to stay calm and in control. I’m good at that. Calm down, think, prioritize. First thing’s first: where am I? How did I get here? _

The last thing Max remembered was walking to the Deus Ex Machina with Doc. He’d been just about to bring up what Anderson and Integra had suggested about his glasses, when he’d felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck. After that, it was a complete blank. 

Speaking of Doc, the Major suddenly noticed the feeling of something- no,  _ someone  _ pressed up against his back. Thankfully, he was almost positive that said person was lying back-to-back with him, and no one was being spooned. Because based on the feeling of the other man’s bone structure and general size and shape, which Max could feel pressed up tightly against him, and the last person he could remember being with before everything suddenly went black, the only person he thought it  _ could  _ be was Doc.

If the two of them had been facing each other, or were just a  _ little  _ closer, this would have been a lot more awkward than it already was. So there was one bright side. The other bright side was that if Doc was here in the same situation, then it meant that Doc was likely  _ not  _ responsible for said situation. And Max honestly didn’t know what he would do if Doc, the only man he had ever considered a friend, betrayed him.

Based on the other man’s (Doc’s?) breathing, Max was pretty sure he was still out cold. 

“Pssst. Doc.” 

No response. 

“ _ Doc. _ ” 

Nothing.

“ _ Avondale! _ ” The Major snapped, and he shoved his shoulder against Doc for good measure trying to rouse him. 

The other man groaned. The Major would know that voice, anywhere.  _ Yep. That’s definitely Doc. _

“Vake up, Herr Doktor. It vould seem zat ve haft gotten ourselves in quite a pickle.”

Doc groaned again, and the Major felt him shift. “Herr Major… ist zat you?” He asked sleepily. 

“Ja.”

“Vhere are ve?” He asked. His voice was getting more alert, and the Major could hear the fear in his tone as he started becoming more aware of his surroundings. 

“If I vere to guess, I vould say zat ve are in ze trunk of a car. Vhy, or how ve got here, I don’t know. Do you remember anyzing?”

“Nein… vait.  _ Ja _ ! Ve vere valking to ze Deus Ex Machina.”

“Ja. I remember zat.”

“Ve vere talking.”

“Ja. Ve vere.”

“Und you vere about to tell me somezing.”

“Ja.” 

“Und zen you got shot vith a tranquilizer dart und passed out.”

“Zat, I don’t remember. Vat do you remember after zat?”

“I caught you and set you down.”

“ _ How? _ ” The Major was very aware of how heavy he was. How had  _ Doc  _ caught him? Without  _ breaking  _ something?

“Zere vas no holding you up, I just made sure you didn’t get hurt on ze vay down.”

“Oh. Zat vas nice of you. Zen vat?”

“I checked your pulse und looked at vat you got shot vith… Zen I got shot. Felt a hand over my mouth. After zat, everyzing ist a complete blank.”

“Vell, zat doesn’t tell us much, does it?”

“Oh ja… zere’s one more zing.”

“ _ Vat…? _ ”

“Eh… The tranquilizer dart. It vas one of Millennium’s.”

The Major had to pause for a moment to take that in. Then, “ _ VAT?!” _

“ _ Autsch _ !” Doc hissed, and the Major felt him flinch. 

“Ah. Sorry, Doc. I just shouted en your ear. But…  _ Millennium  _ did zis?”

“Ja, Herr Major. It vould seem ve’ve been betrayed.”

The Major was quiet for several long moments. Insubordination was the flower of war. A little rebelliousness from the troops was inevitable. The Major knew how upset some of the men were over the current situation and the failure of Operation Sea Lion, but an all-out  _ mutiny _ ? That, he’d  _ never  _ seen coming. Not just insubordination, but an  _ attack  _ on the leaders of the organization? 

Now, there  _ were  _ countermeasures in place in case a mutiny  _ did  _ happen. They weren’t  _ stupid _ . Said countermeasure was an incredibly overprotective seven foot tall white werewolf named Captain Hans Gunsche. 

_ Those bastards! They waited until the instant I was away from Hans or anyone else capable of protecting me, and they struck! I don’t even think Doc was even a target! He was just there and in the way, so they took him, too!  _

“Er… Herr Major, are you alright?” Doc asked, his voice concerned. 

The Major suddenly realized how tense his body was from his anger. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.  _ I’m the one who’s always calm. I’m the one who always has a plan. Doc’s as much a victim as I am. I can’t make this worse for him by letting my walls down. Remember, the soldier who loses his head, loses his head. The soldier who loses his head, loses his head. The soldier who loses his head, loses his head…  _

“I am fine, Doc. Just… zinking, is all.”

“Do you have a plan?” Doc asked. There was complete trust in his voice. The Major was supposed to be the one who  _ always  _ had a plan. Because it was true. In every situation, he  _ was  _ always supposed to be the one who knew what to do. But this time… 

“Zere are too many variables. I’m not sure.”

“Variables?”

“Ja. Variables.”

“Like…” 

“Based on how long we’ve been going und how long ve can estimate ve vere unconscious, it ist safe to assume ve are on ze oer side of ze barrier.”

“Oh,  _ shit! _ ”

“Calm down, Doc. Ze car isn’t driving in irregular patterns. Ve can feel it. It’s going straight forvards vith ze occasional turn. Zat, und zere’s no shouting or gunfire to be heard. From zat, it ist safe to assume zat ze sun hast not completely risen. Ze monsters are still dormant.”

“Vell, zat’s good news.”

“Ja. It ist. But ze zing ist, ve don’t know exactly vat time it ist or how much longer we have until  _ zey  _ are avake.”

“Zat’s bad news.” 

“Ve also don’t know exactly who ze mutineers are. Ist it just a few people?  _ All  _ of Millennium? Are any of ze vones vith special abilities like Schrodinger or Zorin involved? Are zere any in ze  _ ozer  _ organizations in on it? Ve just don’t know. Ve also don’t know exactly how many people are  _ here _ . Driving ze car. Are zere ozer cars, too? Ve  _ don’t know _ .”

“Zat ist a lot of variables.”

“Too many variables und not enough data to make a plan.” The Major said. 

“Oh my God, we’re dead.” The Major could feel Doc starting to quiver behind him. “Zey’re going to beat us, rape us, drink our blood, rape our corpses, zen vonce ve’ve turned into ghouls, zey’re going to feed us to ze monsters und bet on vich vone of us gets eaten, first.”

“ _ Doc _ . First of all:  _ Jesus Christ _ .”

“You know how our men are! Zat sounds exactly like somezing zey vould do!”

“Be zat as it may, you know how I feel about people who go into a fight vith a defeatist attitude!”

“Ja, Herr. I do.” 

“If you go into a fight vithout truly believing you vill lose, you vill never come out victorious. Don’t you  _ ever  _ forget zat. Besides. I may have said I didn’t have a plan, but I do have an  _ idea _ .”

“You do?”

“Ja.”

_ You have to make it back, Doc. _ The Major thought. 

“Ve’re not going down vizout a fight, no matter how bad ze odds are.” The Major said. 

_ I might be a good strategist, and I might have a way with words, but Sir Integra is perfectly capable of doing the same thing. I’m replaceable. You’re not. _

“As soon as zey open ze trunk, I’m going to start howling ze loudest verevolf call I can. Hans vill hear it from miles avay.”

_ You’re the best doctor we’ve got and the best one to study those creatures. The wounded need you.  _ Everyone  _ needs you. _

“It’ll only take zem an instant to eizer cover my mouth or point a gun at us. Zat’s ven I’ll have to stop. Zen, ve’ll try diplomacy.”

_ I have to convince them to let Doc go. Take him back to the barrier. Or leave him somewhere Hans will find him before the monsters do. _

“Und if diplomacy doesn’t vork, ve’ll stall zem as long as ve possibly can. Give Hans as much time as possible to reach us.”

_ I don’t care if I end up beaten, raped, killed, raped again, turned into a ghoul, and eaten…  _

“Und if zat doesn’t vork, ve’ll fight. I don’t care how impossible it seems. Fight like your life depends on it. Because I tell you, it vill, Doc.”

_ If only one of us makes it back… _

“Ve’ll both zet out of zis.”

_ For everyone’s sake…  _

“I promise.”

_ It has to be  _ you _ , Avondale Napyeer. _

* * *

 

“A mutiny. Inside Millennium?” Sir integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing asked yet again, just to clarify what she had just been told.

“Aye. It’d seem so.” Anderson said. 

Sir Integra pushed her glasses up and rubbed her eyes.  _ God _ , it was too early for this. 

It’d started off as a normal morning (well, the ‘normal’ that had dictated their daily lives since the alliance began), until about two minutes ago. 

Two minutes ago when Schrodinger had walked up to her and whispered that there was an emergency and that they needed her in her office. And when she’d walked into her office, Schrodinger, Pip and Seras close behind her, Anderson, Yumie, Heinkel, Zorin had been waiting for them. No Major. No Doc. No Hans. No Alucard. And now, Integra knew why. 

“Hah. Of course it’d be  _ Millennium  _ to have a mutiny. Why am I not surprised?” Pip said from his place leaning against a wall. 

“So, Master has gone off with Hans looking for the Major and Doc?” Seras asked. 

“Aye. That he has. But he checked and made absolutely sure that Zorin was trustworthy before he left.”

“By which you mean he-” Integra started to ask, but Zorin interrupted her. 

“I don’t vant to talk about it.” There was a bloodied bandage around her neck. From that, it was pretty easy to guess exactly how Alucard  _ “checked Zorin’s loyalty” _ . It would take at least an hour for it to completely heal over, depending on how fast Zorin could regenerate and how deep Alucard had bitten her.

“Our first priority needs ter be flushin’ out the rest of the traitors, should there be any.” Anderson said. 

“And does anyone have any ideas on how we’re going to do that?” Integra asked. 

“Let’s consider what we’ve got ter work with. With the Major, Doc, an’ Hans on the other side of the barrier, Zorin’s currently the leader of Millennium until they get back. Or at least, until  _ Hans  _ gets back. There’s no guarantee that the Major and Doc are even still  _ alive _ . All we can do is hope an’ pray that they are.” Anderson said. 

“And considering that Zorin’s the only one who can  _ read minds _ , she’s the only one who will be able to tell us who’s a traitor and who’s not.” Yumie added. 

“Which means that whatever plan we  _ do  _ come up with, it’ll be riding completely on Zorin.” Heinkel said. 

“Lucky me.” Zorin said dryly. 

“But ve have no idea how many people are traitors. Ve  _ could  _ be dealing vith half of Millennium or more. A  _ lot  _ of ze men disapprove of the alliance.” Schrodinger said. 

“Und I cannot kill half of Millenium by myself. Ve have to somehow figure out how to mark who are traitors and who are loyal so zat everyone vill know who to fight.” Zorin said. 

At that moment, Pip loudly cleared his throat. Everyone immediately turned and looked at him. The French Mercenary lit a cigarette before taking a long puff of it. “I might have something.” 


	7. VII: A Fortunate Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Major and Doc are deep in trouble and Hans and Alucard are still miles away from reaching them. But a lucky encounter with a fourth party just might save their lives!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the other half of the last chapter! I know ya'll are gonna LOVE this! I sure loved writing it!

The car stopped. The Major and Avondale Napyeer both felt it. The change in momentum also caused the Major to slide awkwardly backwards against Doc, crushing him against a wall. Avondale let out a small, pathetic squeak that resembled the sound of a dog’s squeaky toy being squeezed. 

“Ahh! Sorry, Doktor.” The Major was quick to apologize and scoot over again so that the slimmer man could breathe. Doc was a little surprised by the apology, but there were more pressing concerns at hand.

“It’s quite alright, Major.” He groaned. “It vas an accident. Zis ist vierd for both of us.”

“Shhh! Do you hear zat?” 

And indeed, Doc did hear it. The sound of multiple sets of footsteps and voices just outside. The footsteps stopped, and suddenly, Doc was blinded by a bright light. For a moment, he was too stunned to move. But the Major’s reaction was much different.

Avondale flinched at the  _ loud  _ sound of the Major letting loose a howl, a werewolf call, as loud as he possibly could, barely a foot away from Doc. 

“Shut the  _ f**k  _ up!” A harsh voice barked, and the sound was cut off. By a hand? A gun being pointed at them? Doc didn’t know. His back was to the Major and to whatever else was going on. He couldn’t  _ see  _ anything, and he hated it. 

A voice started speaking in German. 

“Du machst überhaupt nur Krach, du kleiner Scheißer. Ich dachte, es wäre ein Wunder, um dich zum Schweigen zu bringen."

(“ _ All you ever do is make noise, you little shit. Thought it’d take a miracle to get you to shut up _ .”)

Doc heard a punch, and the Major grunted in pain. The next instant, the body pressed up against Doc disappeared. Then, Doc felt hands grab him roughly, and he was thrown out of the car. Doc landed on hard, dry dirt with an  _ oof _ . 

He rolled over so that he could finally see what level of shit they were in. 

Yep, they were in pretty deep. 

They were in the forest. They  _ were  _ on the other side of the barrier. Doc had landed right next to the Major, who already had a split lip and a bloody nose from when he’d been punched in the face. The two of them were right in the middle of a circle of Millennium soldiers. Doc quickly counted. Fifteen. It was fifteen to two. All fifteen of them were stronger than Doc and Major combined. And they were all armed to the teeth. 

_ We’re going to die.  _

“All you ever do is talk. You never  _ do  _ anything. Can’t even shoot right. Should’ve died on ze battlefield as a private! Vhy ze hell did ve ever listen to you? How the hell did you even get ze rank of Major?!”

Moving his jaw to get rid of the discomfort from being punched, the Major sat up as tall as he could, giving Doc a look telling him not to stand. 

“Hard vork? Luck? Ze Fuhrer never told me vhy he chose to promote me to my current rank. He may have been a genocidal maniac, but he vas vone I respected. Ve all did. Und he made me your commander. So as your commander, let me ask you, vhy did you betray me?”

Doc’s heart was pounding in his ears. Given the chance to say something, Doc was sure that his entire vocabulary would just leave him blubbering like a fool and say  _ ‘Viel Glück’ _ . And the Major, as usual, was spewing poetry like a calculated machine. If he was scared, he wasn’t showing it. The only thing Doc saw in those gold orbs was rage. 

“ _ Vhy _ ? I’ll tell you why, you coward!” The same soldier spoke again. Doc had a feeling that he was the leader. “ _ Fifty years! _ Zat’s vhy! Fifty years, ve vorked on Operation Sea Lion! Vorking. Perfecting.  _ Obsessing _ . Und you not only turned back at ze first dark cloud, you  _ allied  _ us vith ze forces ve svore to destroy! You put us under the false illusion zat you vere one of ze strongest of us all, but you’re just a veak-ass coward! Und you turned ze whole organization  _ veak _ !”

Now, the Major looked absolutely  _ livid _ . 

“ _ Ze first dark cloud?! _ ” He seethed. “If I hadn’t given ze order to retreat, ve vould all be  _ dead! _ Operation Sea Lion vas over ze second zose  _ monsters  _ appeared out of novhere und  _ ate  _ most of  _ our  _ comrades, you  _ son of a bitch _ !” The Major shouted. 

Doc couldn’t help but be a bit taken back. In all the years he’d known him, he could count on one hand the number of times he’d heard the Major swear. And most of those occasions were back before becoming a cyborg and after a few drinks. 

And the little man was just getting started. “You zink you’re ze only vones who vere upset? You may have been ze vones who vere created und trained to carry it out, but whose plan vas it?!  _ Mine! _ Your  _ pazetic  _ IQs couldn’t possibly comprehend how many sleepless nights  _ I  _ spent orchestrating it, perfecting it, making sure zat all of ze last Battalion's pieces vould be in ze right places at ze right time to claim victory! Sea lion vas to be my crown jewel! Ze greatest operation I ever carried out! Und now I’m going to  _ die  _ never knowing if it even vould have  _ vorked _ !  _ I  _ had a choice to make! Und  _ I  _ chose to let us  _ all  _ live today und fight tomorrow! Hellsing’s barrier vas ze only place to retreat! You zink I  _ vanted  _ an alliance?! Do you have any idea how fucking  _ awkvard  _ it vas to sit in Sir Integra Hellsing’s office for hours on end for  _ days  _ coming up vith ze plan for ze first expedition across ze barrier? How many times ze three of us just vanted to fuck it und slaughter each ozer?! No! You couldn’t! Und do you know vhy I did it?! It vas for  _ you,  _ you assholes! I vas  _ trying  _ to save ze lives of ze seventy five members of Millennium left under my care und command!”

With a growl of outrage, one of the soldiers backhanded the Major across the face. Another one grabbed him by the hair and smashed his knee right into the Major’s nose before kicking him hard right in the middle of the chest, sending him backwards onto his back. Based on the blood pouring out of his nostrils, there was no  _ way  _ his nose wasn’t broken.

“Stop it! Leave him alone! Can’t you see? He didn’t have a choice!” Doc said, standing up. 

One of the soldiers punched Doc in the stomach so hard it knocked the wind out of him. The Doctor fell to his knees in pain, gasping and trying to regain his breath. 

“You stay on your knees, you little brown-noser!”

“Doc isn’t your mother last night!” The Major blurted out. 

Doc could do absolutely nothing to protect his commander and friend from the beating that followed. And it reminded him so much of the beating the Major had received from the Russians. The one that had nearly  _ killed  _ him over fifty years ago. The one that had been the direct cause of his cyborg surgery. Five of the soldiers surrounded him and hit him in the sides, the stomach, the ribs, his back, his shoulders. Anything their jackboots or the blunt end of their rifles could reach. And the others laughed and jeered, goading them on. 

Doc tried to look away, but a hand grabbed a fistful of his hair and turned his head,  _ forcing  _ him to watch. 

_ I’m sorry, Herr Major. I’m sorry. Hans, where are you?! _

When they finally got bored of it, they tossed their commander roughly against the side of a tree and one of them pulled out a rifle and pointed it directly between the Major’s eyes. 

“Any last vords?” He asked. 

The Major coughed, then looked up and spoke. Looking at the men who had betrayed him through thick, cracked spectacles. “Ja. Four of zem, actually. Care to hear vat zey are?”

The traitor grunted. 

The Major grinned and said, “Karma ist a bitch.”

That was when a giant pink hand swooped down and grabbed the man with the gun. Doc hadn’t seen the monster, but he did, now. Not that he got a very good look at it. It was really just a pinkish blur. Because the second the soldiers’ attention was off of them, the Major darted sideways and tackled Doc, sending both of them tumbling down the side of a steep hill. 

Over the sound of leaves crunching and his own grunts, Doc could hear shouts, screaming, and gunfire coming from the top of the hill, and the sound of distant gigantic footsteps. The monsters were awake. 

The second the two of them stopped rolling at the bottom of the hill, they detangled from each other and were on their feet in an instant. Avondale was completely high on adrenaline and didn’t really care where he ran at that point. All he knew was that he had to  _ run! _

A firm hand on his arm stopped him from doing just that. As per usual, the Major was actually  _ thinking _ , despite his fear. And the next thing Doc knew, the two of them were scrambling under a gigantic fallen tree. It was big enough that it completely hid the two of them from sight, and it had landed perfectly on top of a dip in the land that was just big enough for the two of them to hide in, albeit uncomfortably. 

The Major tapped Doc on the shoulder. He had a finger to his lips and he was making a motion with his other hand that Doc could tell meant  _ ‘calm down’ _ . And Doc instantly knew he was right. All they could do was remain as quiet as possible and pray to any God that may still show sinners like them mercy that Hans would arrive. 

Doc knew the werewolf would come. Not for him, but for his Major. And when he did, he’d definitely take Doc with him.

Doc forced himself to take deep, slow breaths, while also trying to make them quiet ones. But the sounds of gunfire, steadily getting quieter as those shooting were picked off, and the sounds of screaming being cut off by loud, sickening  _ crunches _ , made staying calm a task much too difficult for Doc. 

Listening to the sound of his heartbeat in his ears, Avondale’s lip trembled, but he willed himself not to cry. He was a hardened member of the Last Battalion, even if he was just a doctor. He wasn’t going to die crying! He prayed silently that Hans would come. That  _ anyone  _ would come. But deep down, he knew that all they were doing was delaying the inevitable. Why did he think that? There was the sniffing to consider, and the slow footsteps pacing around the area they were hiding. 

_ Oh, God! One of them knows we’re here! It just hasn’t found us, yet! We’re going to die! _

* * *

 

Alucard didn’t know how long he and Hans ran, but the werewolf skidded to a complete stop and his ears suddenly snapped up. Alucard heard it, too. It was the unmistakable howl of a werewolf. It only lasted a second or two, but there was no mistaking what direction it had come from. 

“ _ I wasn’t aware that there were any werewolves other than you in this area.” _ Alucard said telepathically. Neither he nor Hans could speak normally at the moment because Alucard was a hellhound and Hans was in his werewolf form. Therefore, neither of them had mouths capable of speech. But when he turned to look at Hans, the werewolf was bolting in the general direction of the sound. 

“ _ Here we go again”. _ Alucard said, chasing after him.  _ “Hans! Why are you going after some werewolf? We’re out here looking for  _ your  _ Major!” _

No reply.

_ “Hans! Dammit with the silence! Answer me!” _

_ “Zat  _ vas  _ Herr Major.” _ The werewolf replied.

_ “What?” _

_ “He’s spent so many years around me, his verewolf call ist so perfect zat most people assume it’s an actual werewolf.”  _

_ “That was the best werewolf call I’ve ever heard.”  _ Alucard said, not believing that he was complimenting  _ the Major  _ of all people about something.  _ “This is good. It means he’s still alive. Doc may or may not be, but we know that he is. We’ve got quite a distance to go to get to him, but he’s alive.” _

_ “Ve have to hurry! He von’t be zat vay for long!”  _ Hans said. Alucard could hear the desperation in his voice, and it made him wonder what the Major had said or done to inspire such loyalty from this werewolf.

The two of them ran for another two or three minutes before they had to stop again. This time because of a fifteen meter monster walking right out in front of them. 

_ Shit!  _ Alucard thought.  _ They’re awake! _ Alucard raised his hackles and snarled at it, letting the shadows around him dance, prepared for battle. But, the creature did nothing but spare a curious glance at them. It sniffed the air, looking a little confused. Like it couldn’t figure out why the two things it was looking at smelled like humans, when they clearly weren’t. 

After about a 30 second stare, it turned and walked away. 

_ “It would seem,”  _ Alucard observed aloud,  _ “that these creatures don’t attack us when we aren’t in human form. It doesn’t identify us as human, so it didn’t go after us.” _

_ “Doc und Herr Major von’t have zat luxury. If zose creatures are avake, zay don’t have long! Come on!” _

And the two of them continued on their trail.

* * *

 

Was it minutes? Or was it an hour? Major Montana Max didn’t know how long he and Doc hid under that tree. All he knew was that he was tired, cold, hungry, aching all over, and absolutely terrified. 

_ What’s going on back at Hellsing? _ He wondered. 

Were there any other traitors? Were they under attack? Were they handling it well? Did anyone even know they were missing? Were Sir Integra and Father Anderson alright? Where was Hans?

But despite his racing heart and brain, despite the adrenaline telling him to run, telling him to  _ fight _ , the Major used every bit of self control he possessed to stay as still as possible. As quiet as possible. He tried to make himself calm by listening to his own heartbeat, and to the gentle  _ ticks  _ and  _ whirrs  _ of the machinery inside him, keeping him alive. 

He could tell that Doc was having a harder time keeping calm than he was. The Doctor’s breathing was forcibly slow, but it was hard and deep, and he was shaking slightly. There was a small trail of blood running down one side of his face and a scrape across his cheek. The Major was pretty sure both minor injuries had been attained during their tumble down the hill. 

The Major knew he was in worse shape than Doc, but he also knew that he’d had worse. He was pretty sure a few of his ribs were cracked from his beating and he had sore spots all over his body that he was sure were going to be bruises. He could feel a trail of blood going down his face, he was pretty sure he had a split lip, his glasses were cracked (he needed new ones anyway), his nose was probably broken, and he’d bitten his tongue at some point. Ouch. 

Honestly, how  _ dirty  _ his favorite white suit and jacket were was bothering him more than the pain was. Max had always been good at taking a hit. As for his suit, dirt washed out fine, but blood was the most stainable damn thing on the planet! 

On a more serious note, the Major was quite concerned about their safety. At the moment, they were sitting ducks. All they had to defend themselves with was one tiny pistol the Major had snatched an instant before he’d tackled Doc. He didn’t know how many shots were in it and it would make noise if he opened it to check, so he sure as hell wasn’t going to. And even if it was full, Doc wasn’t exactly a sharpshooter and the Major sure as  _ hell  _ couldn’t hit a thing to save his life! And in this instance, his life was quite literally on the line. And so was Doc’s.

All of his thoughts came to a screeching halt when a gigantic brown eye suddenly appeared in their line of vision. Peering under the tree, the pupil fixed directly at them. The Major was sure his heart skipped several beats, and for an instant, he was frozen in fear. Staring back at the monster that was peering at them. 

One of them screamed. Max was pretty sure it was Doc, but he didn’t exactly care either. A giant hand grabbed the tree and tossed it aside like it was nothing. Be it reaction time, adrenaline, or just a little luck, Doc reacted immediately. The creature’s face was close enough to touch. Doc took advantage of that by grabbing a huge stick and stabbing the monster directly in the eye. It seemed that this one  _ was  _ one of the ones that reacted to pain, because it roared and jumped backwards, steam erupting profusely from its’ eye socket. The Major could suddenly move, again. He grabbed Doc by the arm and shouted, “ _ LAUF _ !” Which in German meant,  _ RUN! _

It was in that moment that Max knew he was probably going to die. He could jog for maybe a minute, tops. But he couldn’t run. There was no way. But Doc could. 

Doc ran ahead of him, but still kept a firm hold on the Major’s arm, dragging him along. 

“Doc! I can’t run! Get out of here!” 

“No vay! I’m not leaving you! Ve’ve been through too much!  _ Survived  _ too much for zis to be ze end!”

The Major was desperate, now. So be it that or the knowledge that it was the end, he found himself saying, “ _ Danke _ ! Zank you so much for being my friend all zese years. Zank you for saving my life all zose years ago so zat I could live so much longer. So I could  _ fight  _ so much longer. But zis ist ze end for me, Doc. You know it. But it doesn’t have to be ze end for you! Get out of here.  _ You  _ have to make it back alive!”

There were tears streaming out of Doc’s eyes. “NEIN! NEIN! You’re my best friend! You’re my only  _ real  _ friend! Vat ze hell am I supposed to do vithout you?!”

The Major found himself smiling. He’s always considered Avondale his best friend, but it was good to hear that Doc felt the same way. 

“Live on! Fight on! Ve both know I’m about to die, but it’s just be a damn vaste if you died, too!”

“I can’t outrun that thing, either!”

“You can better than me!”

With a furious roar, the creature swiped at the two of them. To avoid it, Doc and Max jumped apart. But Doc’s foot got caught on something and he stumbled backwards and fell. 

Identifying Doc as the one that was down and therefore the easier target, the Creature’s hand reached out towards him. 

_ OH THE HELL YOU DON’T! _

Not thinking anything else other than that it would be better if he died than if Doc died, the Major yelled as loud as he could and jumped between them. Giant fingers closed around his right arm and jerked him off his feet. Max heard a  _ pop  _ and knew his shoulder was dislocated. 

“MAJOR!” Doc screeched. 

“I HOPE YOU CHOKE ON ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH!” The Major shouted at the creature that had him. Despite the fact that his hands were still ziptied, he managed to get the pistol out of where he had it hidden in his sleeve and he managed to twist his wrist to a position that despite having both hands held above his head, he could still point it in the monster’s direction without pointing it at himself. He fired it once, twice, three times at the creature’s face. Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight! 

Finally, dangling vertically right above the creature’s head, as its’ jaws started to open wide to drop him in, the Major took a deep breath and took one last shot. Number nine hit the creature in the same eye that had just finished healing. 

The Major grinned.  _ I finally hit something! _

But alas, the creature was too focused on him to care. Its’ fingers released him, and he fell. Past boulder-sized incisors,  he landed on the creature’s huge, disgusting, slimy tongue. But he slid straight backwards. He made a mad grab for the uvula, but it was too slippery. The Major screamed. He tried to fire the gun, tried to trigger the gag reflex so it would spit him out, but it was  _ empty!  _ He dropped the gun. He clawed at the flesh surrounding him the best he could with hands that were tied together, but to no avail. He could feel himself sliding down the creature’s throat. 

Now, the muscles of its’ esophagus had him. Squeezing him, dragging him down, down, down! Max almost wished it had bitten him in half. Not this! He was being swallowed whole! His death was going to be so  _ slow _ ! Would he suffocate? Would he drown in its’ stomach acid? Or would he be disintegrated, first? He kept clawing and kicking the best he could at the sides of its’ esophagus, trying desperately to live. He’d fight until the very end, dammit! It still had its’ mouth open. He could see the light up above. He could see it! But it was getting smaller! It was taking its’ sweet time, enjoying the sensation of swallowing him. 

Now, the Major closed his mouth. Shouting even with it shut. Every time he opened it, thick, bitter saliva got in. He was choking on it, and the walls of the esophagus squeezing him were making it damn near impossible to breathe. 

The corners of his vision started getting dark.  _ I’m going to die… I’m going to die… _

And then-

* * *

 

Everything moved incredibly fast to Doc. One moment, the creature was reaching out for him, but the next, it had Herr Major in its’ grip, instead!

Doc screeched his friend’s name, but he could do nothing other than watch in terror. The Major had gotten a gun from somewhere. He fired it eight times and managed to hit the creature in the eye on the ninth, but the creature ignored the injury and dropped him into its’ mouth. 

Doc screamed. “MAJOR! NEIN!!!!” He ran forwards and grabbed a branch off of the ground. Striking the creature in the ankle as hard as he could. So hard, the branch broke in a small explosion of leaves and splinters.

“SPIT HIM OUT! EAT ME INSTEAD, DAMMIT!” His vision was blurry from the tears, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care! He heard the creature swallow.  _ It didn’t chew! It’s swallowing him whole!  _

And there was nothing Doc could do about it. 

_ He… he wanted me to live. _ Doc felt a sudden rush of determination. He couldn’t save his Major, but his Major was dying to save him! He could do that much. Doc turned and began to run. But a huge foot suddenly collided with the Earth right beside him. 

It wasn’t from the first creature. 

Doc was sent flying into the air from the impact. The second he landed, Doc scrambled onto his hands and knees and whirled around at the sound of an angry roar. Unlike the roar of any creature he’d ever heard, before. Not just its’ roar, this creature was different from the others. Doc knew that as soon as it punched the one that had eaten the Major across the jaw so hard that it went flying off. 

For about two seconds, the two stared at each other. One had attacked, and now they were sizing each other up. That gave Doc just enough time to look at the new one. 

It was fifteen meters tall. The same size as the other one. But oddly, it was perfectly proportional. It was muscular, with an eight pack running up its’ stomach and a body built for combat. Like the rest, it had no genitalia. It had a head of messy shoulder-length dark hair and a sharp nose. It’s jaw was unusual and crooked, it’s ears were pointy, and it lacked any lips. Its’ sunken eyes were bright green in color and completely focused on the opponent before it. 

It roared and suddenly kneed the first one in its’ oversized gut so hard that Doc felt tremors from the impact. The creature made a choking noise and the new creature immediately grabbed it by the throat before plunging its’ other arm into the other one’s mouth all the way down to the elbow. A triumphant look flashed across its’ features and it roared again as it ripped its’ arm out with a flourish. Doc’s heart soared when he saw that it was holding someone in its’ fist. 

“MAJOR!” He cried out. 

The Major was completely limp in the newcomer’s grasp. It appeared that he was either dead or had passed out, but Doc just  _ knew  _ it in his gut that he wasn’t dead!

The first creature was  _ not  _ happy seeing its’ breakfast rudely ripped right out of it. It let loose a strangled roar and jerked out of the newcomer’s grip before lunging for the hand that was holding the Major. 

The newcomer expertly stepped aside and maneuvered that hand away from the first creature while at the same time kicking its’ leg out to trip it. The creature fell to the ground hard. Doc stumbled to stay up from the impact. It tried to get up, but the newcomer snarled and ended it with a single powerful stomp on the back of its’ neck. 

And suddenly, it was still. And there was a whole lot of steam rising from the monster’s body. 

With wide eyes, Doc realized what he had just witnessed. 

_ It’s dead! He killed it! But how? And why?! _

Threat neutralized, the newcomer opened its’ fist so that the Major was just laying completely limp on his back in the palm of its’ hand. 

It brought that hand up to its’ face and for one horrifying moment, Doc thought it was about to eat him. But, it just looked at him really closely before reaching up and poing him in the side with its’ pointer finger and making a small sound in the back of its’ throat that had a slight crescendo to it that made it almost sound like a question. 

_ Is it… checking to see if he’s dead? _

Every move it made was purposeful and  _ intelligent _ . Avondale couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Being a man of science, were it anyone else, Doc could have stood there and observed the interaction for hours. But, that was his Major that the creature was holding and Doc didn’t like seeing his friend get poked like some weird insect. So like an idiot, Doc stood up and yelled, “H-hey! Don’t hurt him!”

Just as the creature was turning its’ head to look at the source of the voice, the Major moved. Doc saw his eyes snap open an instant before he started coughing. The creature’s attention was immediately directed at the small thing it had saved from death. The Major rolled over onto his stomach, coughing up some clear fluid that Doc was pretty sure was the dead creature’s saliva.  _ Gross _ . 

Once he was finally done with his coughing fit, the Major started sluggishly looking around. 

“Herr Major!” Doc shouted. “Don’t move! Do not panic!”

“D-Doc? Vhy vould I-” The Major turned and the first thing he saw was a pair of gigantic, brilliant green eyes staring at him. He froze. 

“Major! Remain calm! I don’t think zat it’s going to eat you!”

The Major slowly turned to look back at Doc. A look of of panic crossed his features and he screamed, “DOC! ACHTUNG! HINTER DIR!” (“ _ DOC! LOOK OUT! BEHIND YOU!”) _

Doc turned in time to see a gigantic open mouth coming right at him. He hadn’t even seen the five meter coming!

But he also saw a silver blur fly through the air and land one beautiful strike on the back of the monster’s neck before landing gracefully on the back of its’ head. The monster immediately fell over dead and skidded to a stop across the ground right in front of Doc.

And it was no silver blur. It was a  _ person _ . There was a  _ person  _ standing on top of the creature’s head. A young woman. There was a woman standing on top of the creature’s head. A rather beautiful brunette with her hair back in a ponytail wearing goggles. 

“Whoa! Are you alright? You almost  _ died _ ! What are you doing outside the walls?” She asked energetically. 

Doc was too shocked to give any reply other than stand there shaking with wide eyes and his mouth open like a flounder. 

“Eren!” Another voice shouted. Doc turned around. _ What in the world?! _ There was a boy standing on one of the creature’s shoulders! A fourteen or fifteen year old boy (or was it a girl?) with shoulder-length blonde hair. “You can’t go running off like that!” He was  _ talking to it! _ “Why did you run off?” The boy asked. Then, he noticed the Major. 

“H-hey! Is that a person? Where’d he come from? What’s he doing outside the walls?” And the creature  _ shrugged _ ! 

_ An intelligent response! It understands human speech! It IS intelligent! _

Doc heard multiple whizzing sounds all around him and took a look around to see more people arriving. All of them were wearing identical uniforms that consisted of white leggings, jackboots, varying shirts, tan leather jackets, and green hooded cloaks. They all also had a strange series of leather straps wrapped all around their bodies, a pair of large rectangular metal things attached to their hips, and a strange device on the base of their backs. A few people were holding a pair of swords, but the rest had put them away in the rectangular device. 

They were everywhere. There must have been dozens of them. Standing in the trees, at the top of the hill, on top of large boulders, and on the ground around him. Many of them were also riding horses. There was a circle of people on horses all around him, and he noticed that a few of them were holding the reigns of a riderless steed next to them. And they were all staring at him and the Major like they were the weirdest thing they’d seen all day. 

“Put him down, Eren. You don’t know where he’s been.” A voice said. The source was an incredibly short man with a black undercut and intimidating grey eyes standing in a tree not too far off from where Doc was standing. He was also the only one wearing an ascot. The creature,  _ Eren _ , nodded and set the Major down gently next to Doc. 

“Major! Are you alright?” Doc asked immediately, kneeling down to the Major’s level and laying a comforting hand on his commander’s back. The Major’s eyes were as wide as saucers and he was shaking like a leaf. He crumpled to his knees the second he was on the ground. “I’m f-fine.” He squeaked.

_ Physically unharmed, but possibly in shock. Thank God. _

A few people started walking up to them, curious, but the brunette who had killed the five meter shouted at them, “Hey! He was just swallowed whole by a titan! Give him some air, for Maria’s sake! And someone send up a flare to inform the rest of the formation of the titan sighting and kill.”

Those who had been approaching quickly backed off and a young man with a spiky brown and black undercut and a face that resembled that of the horse he was riding raised a flare gun into the air, covered his ears, and fired a single red signal flare before reloading and firing a green signal flare. He then put the flare gun away back in the bag on his horse’s saddle. 

“Hey, you.” The same short man who had spoken before said, looking directly at Doc.

A pair of  _ harpoons  _ suddenly launched out of the metal device on his hips and attached themselves to nearby trees. At the same time, he jumped off the branch he’d been standing on and a burst of gas erupted from the metal thing on his back, sending him flying through the air and landing gracefully on the ground not ten feet away from them. Keep in mind, the branch where he’d been standing was at least ten meters off the ground. 

The man walked the rest of the way towards them and the next thing Doc knew, there was a sword pointed at his face. “This sure as hell isn’t Wall Maria, so where the hell are we?... And who the hell are you?” 

When the man raised his arm, his cloak fell to reveal a symbol on his arm. A coat of arms. A coat of arms that featured a pair of blue and white crossed wings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Sied iher das Essen?  
> Nein, wir sind der Jäger!"  
> IT'S THE SURVEY CORPS!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I already posted this on Fanfiction.net, and I was wondering what Archive of Our Own would think about it.  
> I was inspired to write this when I watched Hellsing and thought: "Wow. Those guys could learn a thing or two from our Friends from Attack on Titan. Wait... That could end up being awesome." And then, this happened.  
> I hope you like it! Be sure to leave Kudos and Reviews!


End file.
